Multiple protesters said to have been killed and hundreds injured in Islamabad amid calls for Khan’s release from jail.
Pakistan’s army and police have been accused of firing on civilians, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries to hundreds of protesters who had stormed Islamabad on Tuesday to demand the release of the former prime minister Imran Khan from prison.
As tens of thousands of Khan’s supporters stormed the capital on Tuesday in defiance of government orders, the army and paramilitary forces were deployed in huge numbers and issued with shoot-to-kill orders to try to stop the crowds reaching the heart of Islamabad’s sensitive Red Zone, which houses the parliament, supreme court and prime minister’s residence. The centre of the city, known as D-Chowk, was the scene of violent clashes as protesters who had travelled from across the country came up against security forces. Protesters set shipping containers ablaze while riot police and army officers fired teargas and rubber bullets and were also accused of using live ammunition.
Supporters of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan attend a rally in Swabi<br>A supporter of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), reacts as he along with others attend a rally demanding his release in Swabi, Pakistan November 9, 2024.Pakistan military has no intention of cutting deal with jailed former prime minister Imran Khan – sources
By late at night, a power blackout had been imposed on the area, shutting down all the lights, and a major crackdown began. Army and paramilitary officers eventually succeeded in pushing Khan’s supporters out of the capital. Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, who recently emerged as a political figurehead of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) and had led the protest convoy into Islamabad, also fled the scene.
On Wedn, Islamabad remained clear of all protesters and PTI said it was suspending the protest “in view of the government’s brutality and the government’s plan to turn the capital into a slaughterhouse”.
PTI leaders said dozens of those involved in the protests had been killed in live firing by police and the army, and released names of eight they said had been killed. The Guardian could not verify PTI’s figures of the dead.
..Source:quettavoice.com/
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
