Security forces in midnight raid to remove Khan supporters

Pakistan’s security forces launched a sweeping midnight raid on supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan who had stormed the capital demanding his release yesterday, local media said, with hundreds arrested amidst chaotic scenes.
Thousands of protesters had earlier gathered in the centre of Islamabad after a convoy, led by Khan’s wife.
Local broadcasters Geo News and ARY both reported that a massive raid was launched by security forces amidst a pitch-dark central Islamabad, where lights had been turned off and a barrage of tear gas was fired. The protest gathering was almost completely dispersed, they reported.
Imran Khan had called late yesterday for more supporters to join protests in the capital, after a day of deadly confrontations between marchers and security forces.
At least six people, including four paramilitary soldiers, were killed during earlier clashes between security forces and protesters, led by Khan’s wife, who made it all the way to the edge of the city’s highly fortified red zone, before being pushed back by hundreds of security force personnel.
The red zone, being guarded by army soldiers, houses the country’s most important offices and buildings, including the parliament and an enclave of foreign missions.
Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had said they plan on staging a sit-in in the red zone until the release of Khan.
Zulfikar Bukhari, spokesman for PTI, said two protesters had also been killed and 30 injured in the clashes, the worst political violence seen in months in the South Asian nation of 241mn people.
One of the protesters was shot dead and the other was run over by a vehicle, Bukhari said. Authorities did not respond to a query seeking to confirm the deaths.
Convoys of pro-Khan demonstrators have been marching on Islamabad since Sunday, hauling aside roadblocks and skirmishing with police and paramilitary forces firing volleys of rubber bullets and tear gas.
Khan has been jailed since August 2023, sidelined by dozens of disputed cases he claims were confected to prevent his comeback in elections this year marred by rigging allegations.
Since the February vote his party has defied a government crackdown with regular rallies, but yesterday’s is by far the largest to grip the capital.
In the evening, Khan issued a statement from his jail cell outside Islamabad, telling more people to join crowds attempting to occupy a public square in the city’s government enclave.
“Those who haven’t yet joined the protest must also head to D-Chowk,” said Khan’s message posted on social media and shared by his party.
“All Pakistanis participating in the protest must remain peaceful, stay united, and stand firm until our demands are met.”
Despite a ban on public gatherings, AFP journalists saw thousands of protesters in the city centre, facing off with police.
“This is not our government, this government is made up of traitors,” protester Abdul Rashid told AFP, his face covered by a thick scarf. “Long live Imran Khan.”
The government said rioters killed four members of a state paramilitary force, running them over with a vehicle on a city highway leading to the government sector. However, this was quickly debunked with journalist Matiullah Jan reporting that the paramilitary troops were run over by their own vehicles as they fled the scene, quoting the brother of one of the deceased.
One police officer was also reported killed in unrest on Monday. There was no immediate official figure available for any casualties among the demonstrators with various accounts on the social media including bodies of protestors and injured.
“These disruptive elements do not seek revolution but bloodshed,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement. “This is not a peaceful protest, it is extremism.”
The capital has been locked down since late Saturday, with mobile internet sporadically cut and more than 20,000 police flooding the streets, many armed with riot shields and batons.
“The state’s response is completely unwarranted and disproportionate. We have the right to protest,” PTI lawmaker Waqas Akram told AFP by phone.
“They treat their own people as enemies,” he said.
“There will be no negotiations with violent people,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters late yesterday. “They want to see dead bodies. Their intentions are not good.”
Amnesty International however, questioned the government’s actions.
“As protesters enter the capital, law enforcement officials have used unlawful and excessive force”. Amnesty said the government must fully protect the rights of protesters and immediately rescind “shoot-on-sight” orders that it said gave undue and excessive powers to the military.
PTI’s chief demand is the release of Khan, the 72-year-old charismatic former cricket star who served as premier from 2018-2022 and is the lodestar of their party.
Sharif’s government has come under increasing criticism for deploying heavy-handed measures to quash PTI’s protests.
Khan was controversially ousted by a no-confidence vote after falling out with the kingmaking military establishment, which analysts say engineers the rise and fall of Pakistan’s politicians.
But as opposition leader, he led an unprecedented campaign of defiance, with PTI street protests boiling over into unrest that the government cited as the reason for its crackdown.
PTI won more seats than any other party in this year’s election, but a coalition of parties considered more pliable to military influence shut them out of power.
The turmoil has rattled investors. Pakistan’s benchmark share index closed down a record 3.57% yesterday.