Hundreds of thousands of supporters of imprisoned former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party held large demonstrations in Islamabad, which had virtually shut down the city for nearly 3 days. The PTI launched the nationwide protest on November 24, to demand that the federal government repeal the constitutional amendments that compromise the independence of the Judiciary adopted in October (https://eir.news/2024/10/news/demonstrations-in-pakistan-by-imran-khan-supporters/); review the results of the disputed February parliamentary election; and release political prisoners, including Imran Khan, the party’s founder. The government called out the army to help disperse the crowd, with reports that they had “shoot to kill orders.”
On November 26 the demonstrators almost made their way to the heavily-barricaded D-Chowk square in central Islamabad, near which major government offices, courts, and parliament buildings are located, before Pakistani police and paramilitary units stopped them, and detained at least 500 opposition activists. Following the clashes the PTI, in the early hours of November 27, suspended the protest sit-in “for the time being.”
https://www.dawn.com/news/1875102/following-govt-crackdown-pti-calls-off-islamabad-protest-for-the-time-being.Those participating in the demonstration included Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Ali Amin Gandapur.
The PTI press release that announced the suspension of the protest read: “In view of the government’s brutality and the government’s plan to turn the capital into a slaughterhouse for unarmed citizens, [we] announce the suspension of the peaceful protest for the time being.” They added that new protests will be in the planning.
A security force of 20,000 was deployed in Islamabad, while 6 people including members of the security forces were killed and scores were wounded. Over 1,000 protesters were arrested.
Later in the day, on November 27, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur told a reporter that the PTI’s protests will continue. He said , “We are peacefully demanding our legitimate rights, but instead of being heard, we face repression. Whenever we talk about holding a meeting or protesting, we are not allowed,” he added.
The international media has not been giving coverage to these developments. According to some editorials in the Pakistani media, Khan has shown himself to be politically the most powerful man in Pakistan, given the size of these demonstrations which were nationwide. As this news service reported in the past, Khan was overthrown while he was in the midst of a disputatious negotiation with the International Monetary Fund. An IMF agreement was signed after he was imprisoned. https://eir.news/2024/03/news/pakistan-reaches-staff-level-agreement-with-imf-with-harsh-austerity/
