Imran Khan supporters in showdown with Pakistan forces: What we know
Al Jazeera
Violent clashes continue in Islamabad as security forces use tear gas, rubber bullets to disperse advancing protesters.
Thousands of Pakistani protesters demanding the release of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan have forced their way through security barriers and defied a lockdown to enter the capital, Islamabad.
The demonstrators from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, many wielding slingshots and sticks, clashed with security forces on Tuesday as they tried to reach a central square – D-Chowk – in the face of tear gas and rubber bullets. By early afternoon, many had reached the square.
The government has invoked Article 245 of the constitution, which allows a civilian government to call in the army to help it implement “law and order” domestically.
Convoys of protesters started making their way to Islamabad on Sunday from different parts of the country, led by various PTI leaders.
The main convoy from Peshawar in the restive northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a party stronghold, was led by Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi alongside Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
