Pakistan govt's midnight crackdown ends protest by Imran Khan's party in Islamabad

PTI supporters clash with police in Islamabad protest, leading to arrests and accusations of violence by security forces.

A midnight crackdown by the security personnel forced the supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan to evacuate the D-Chowk and its adjacent main business district of the capital ending their protest, which his party on Wednesday (November 27, 2024) described as a “massacre” under the “fascist military regime.” Police sources said about 450 protestors were arrested in the crackdown and more arrests are expected while Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said it was a violent assault on protesters by security forces firing live rounds with the intent to kill as many people as possible.

Earlier on Tuesday evening, PTI supporters battled law enforcing agencies and succeeded in reaching the D-Chowk for a sit-in till their leader told otherwise as part of their protest march to Islamabad that started on Sunday. The supporters' clash with police killed six security personnel and injured dozens.

Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi, who was leading the march to Islamabad from Peshawar along with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, announced that the protestors would not go away until Imran Khan, who had given the final call for protest, was released from jail even as security personnel continued their efforts to move them from the area.

Video footage showed Khan's supporters facing tear gas and climbing on the shipping containers placed on the roads leading to D-Chowk, which is located close to several important government buildings: the Presidency, the PM Office, the Parliament, and the Supreme Court.

Around midnight, police and Rangers launched an operation to clear the Blue Area business area, forcing the protestors to move away along with Bibi and Gandapur.

Police sources said that about 450 protestors were arrested in the crackdown and more arrests are expected after the end of the protest.

Special teams have been formed to arrest PTI leaders, the sources added.