Nearly 1,000 arrested as Pakistan protests intensify amid demand for Imran Khan’s release

Islamabad’s police chief, Ali Rizvi, denied that live ammunition was used during the operation, which was carried out along with paramilitary forces. Rizvi said 600 protesters were arrested in Tuesday’s operation, bringing the total number of arrests over the last three days to 954. He added that weapons, including automatic rifles and tear gas guns, were seized from the protest site, where thousands had gathered and were cleared within a few hours.

Ali Amin Gandapur, a senior aide of Khan and Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, who participated in the protests and fled as the operation began, accused authorities of using excessive force against what he described as “peaceful protesters”. He claimed that “hundreds” had been injured by gunfire.

Pakistan’s information minister and an Islamabad police spokesman did not respond to requests for comment on the allegation that hundreds had been shot by security forces. Gandapur told a press conference in Mansehra, in his province, that both he and Khan’s wife, Bushra Khan, had been directly attacked. Bushra Khan, who had been leading the protesters, escaped unharmed. Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), announced that the sit-in protest demanding Khan’s release had been called off due to what it termed “the massacre”. However, Gandapur insisted the protest would continue until Khan himself ordered its end.

Six Killed in Earlier Clashes

At least six people, including four paramilitary soldiers and two protesters, had been killed in the protests, which began on Sunday, prior to the overnight clashes. Visiting protest sites on Wednesday, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi stated that Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies had successfully cleared protesters from the sit-in and surrounding areas in the capital. He called on PTI to provide any evidence of live ammunition being fired by security forces and noted that the party had not provided details on the deaths of its supporters.

Geo News and ARY News reported that security forces raided the protest site in the dark, where lights had been turned off and a barrage of tear gas was fired. The protesters were nearly completely dispersed, the reports said. On Wednesday, city workers were clearing debris and removing shipping containers that had been used to block roads around the capital. The red zone, home to parliament, the diplomatic enclave, and other key buildings, was free of protesters, although several of their vehicles were left behind, including a truck used by Bushra Khan, which appeared to have been set alight.

The PTI had planned to stage a sit-in in the red zone until Khan’s release. He has been in jail since August last year.

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s benchmark share index surged by more than 5.21 per cent in intraday trading, recovering from a 3.6 per cent loss the previous day due to the political unrest. The sharp market rebound was driven by hopes that political stability would restore investor confidence, according to Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited.