Four Pakistan security forces killed as ex-PM Khan supporters flood capital

Islamabad: Pakistani protesters demanding the release of ex prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday killed four members of the nation s security forces,...

Islamabad: Pakistani protesters demanding the release of ex-prime minister Imran Khan on Tuesday killed four members of the nation's security forces, the government said, as the crowds defied police and closed in on the capital's centre.

More than ten thousand protesters armed with sticks and slingshots took on police in central Islamabad on Tuesday afternoon, AFP journalists saw, less than three kilometres (two miles) from the government enclave they aim to occupy.

Khan was barred from standing in February elections that were marred by allegations of rigging, sidelined by dozens of legal cases that he claims were confected to prevent his comeback.

But his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has defied a government crackdown with regular rallies. Tuesday's is the largest in the capital since Khan was jailed in August 2023.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said "miscreants" involved in the march had killed four members of the paramilitary Rangers force on a city highway leading towards the government sector.