On Tuesday, supporters of Imran Khan, the imprisoned former prime minister of Pakistan, broke past barricades in the Islamabad area and engaged in combat with police personnel. Despite barriers and a strict security lockdown, the demonstrators marched into the capital to demand his release.
Roadblocks surrounding the city and internet bans are just two of the actions used by Pakistani authorities to put an end to the protests. Following Khan's demand for his supporters to march on parliament, the lockdown was implemented. Mohsin Naqvi, Pakistan's interior minister, vowed harsh punishment if demonstrators entered the capital but cautioned that they may stay on the outside.
The demonstrations happened when Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko was in Islamabad on Monday for a formal visit and to meet with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. This made the city's security situation worse.
On Sunday, a group of demonstrators set off from Peshawar with the goal of traveling 180 kilometers to Islamabad. The demonstrators intended to hold a sit-in at D-Chowk, a significant square close to the nation's parliament, under the leadership of Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi.
The demonstrators made it to the outskirts of Islamabad by Monday, despite a two-day security lockdown and a prohibition on rallies. Police barricaded highways with shipping containers to stop them from moving further and attempted to disperse them with tear gas.
Video footage shows several vehicles being set on fire and police posts being set on fire as a result of the demonstrators' resistance. In the Punjab province and the neighboring suburbs of Islamabad, a total of 22 police cars were burned.
The violence claimed the life of at least one police officer and injured a number of others in addition to protesters. Five individuals, including four security officers and one civilian, were killed when a car crashed into them during the protests, according to doctors at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.
Protesters had crossed the city limits by Tuesday morning, and sizable throngs marched past the famous junction known as Zero Point. Before reaching D-Chowk, where they planned to stage their sit-in, the convoy proceeded to the Blue Area, Islamabad's business sector.
As the demonstrations persisted, Pakistani troops were stationed around important government structures in Islamabad, such as the Secretariat, Supreme Court, and parliament.
Interior Minister Naqvi issued a warning in reaction to the escalating disturbance, saying security forces were permitted to employ severe measures if needed. He warned that if demonstrators went too far, the military might start shooting and that more restrictions, including curfews, might be put in place.
“After five minutes, there won’t be any protesters there, and Rangers could open fire,” Naqvi said. Anyone who tried to enter the city would be arrested, he added.
The government allegedly used disproportionate force against nonviolent protestors, according to Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which claimed that "bullets were fired at protesters." Due to the continuous internet restrictions, the PTI's claims that over two dozen protestors had been hurt could not be independently confirmed.
Thousands of Khan's followers have already been arrested by the Pakistani government in recent days, mostly in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, in an effort to stop the protest march from gathering steam.
Public transportation between the cities has been suspended, and schools in Rawalpindi and Islamabad have closed for two days as a result of the protests. In order to stop more protestors from being organized, the administration also closed public transportation hubs.
"We will get past every challenge one by one," said PTI senior leader Kamran Bangash, expressing the protestors' resolve and insisting that they will make it to Islamabad in spite of the strict security measures.
A recent constitutional provision that gives the government more authority to choose superior court judges for political cases has been repealed, and calls for Khan's release have been the main drivers of the protests. The administration was accused of a "stolen mandate" by Khan's followers, who also asserted that the February elections were neither free nor fair.
Imran Khan, who was overthrown by a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in 2022, has been accused of corruption and state secret leaks, among other legal issues. His supporters believe that the military and government are using his incarceration as a political ploy.
The demonstrations have widened the gap between Khan's supporters and the government, resulting in continuous conflicts and an unstable political environment in Pakistan.
