Pakistan: Imran Khan's party PTI calls off Islamabad protest 'for the time being' following govt crackdown

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan's party suspended street protests demanding his release from jail after a sweeping midnight raid by security forces in the capital Islamabad in which hundreds of people were arrested, local media reported on Wednesday.

Islamabad: The Iman Khan party, PTI, in the early hours of Wednesday, announced that it was calling off its high-stakes Islamabad protest sit-in "for the time being", following a day of clashes between security forces and protesters in the city’s Red Zone ended in the party leadership’s hasty retreat, Dawn reported on Wednesday. Pakistani security forces launched an operation Tuesday night to disperse supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan who had gathered in the capital to demand his release from prison.

The latest development came hours after thousands of Khan supporters, defying government warnings, broke through a barrier of shipping containers blocking off Islamabad and entered a high-security zone, where they clashed with security forces, facing tear gas shelling, mass detentions and gunfire. Tension has been high in Islamabad since Sunday when supporters of the former prime minister began a “long march” from the restive northwest to demand his release.

Bushra Bibi led the protest

Khan has been in a prison for over a year and faces more than 150 criminal cases that his party says are politically motivated. Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, led the protest, but she fled as police pushed back against demonstrators. Hundreds of Khan’s supporters are being arrested in the ongoing nighttime operation, and police are also seeking to arrest Bibi. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters that the Red Zone, which houses government buildings and embassies, and the surrounding areas have been cleared. Leaders from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, have also fled the protest site.

READ: Slingshots vs giant fans: Pakistan Police and PTI protesters turn clash into bizarre showdown

Pakistan’s army took control of D-Chowk

Earlier Tuesday, Pakistan’s army took control of D-Chowk, a large square in the Red Zone, where visiting Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is staying. Since Monday, Naqvi had threatened that security forces would use live fire if protesters fired weapons at them. “We have now authorized the police to respond as necessary,” Naqvi said Tuesday while visiting the square. Before the operation began, protester Shahzor Ali said people had taken to the streets because Khan had called for them. “We will stay here until Khan joins us. He will decide what to do next,” Ali said.

“If they fire bullets again, we will respond with bullets,” he said.

Protester Fareeda Bibi, who is not related to Khan’s wife, said people have suffered greatly for the last two years. “We have really suffered for the last two years, whether it is economically, politically or socially. We have been ruined. I have not seen such a Pakistan in my life,” she said. Authorities have struggled to contain the protest-related violence. Six people, including four members of the security services, were killed when a vehicle rammed them on a street overnight into Tuesday. A police officer died in a separate incident.

Journalists attacked in Pakistan

Dozens of Khan supporters beat a videographer covering the protest and took his camera. He sustained head injuries and was treated in a hospital. By Tuesday afternoon, fresh waves of protesters made their way unopposed to their final destination in the Red Zone. Most demonstrators had the flag of Khan’s party around their shoulders or wore its tricolours on accessories. Naqvi said Khan’s party had rejected a government offer to rally on the outskirts of the city.

Information Minister Atta Tarar warned there would be a severe government reaction to the violence. He said the government did not want Bushra Bibi to achieve her goal of freeing Khan. “She wants bodies falling to the ground. She wants bloodshed,” he said. The government says only the courts can order Khan’s release. He was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in Parliament.

(With inputs from agency)

ALSO READ: Is Belarusian President safe? Imran Khan supporters threaten to storm highly secured D-Chowk area