In Pakistan, four paramilitaries killed by pro-Imran Khan demonstrators

Tear gas was fired by Pakistani security forces to disperse supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in Islamabad, November 26, 2024. AAMIR QURESHI / AFP Clashes broke out on Tuesday, November 26, between the forces of Pakistani security forces to thousands of supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who entered Islamabad early in the morning to demand his release, journalists from Agence France-Presse (AFP). Demonstrators on one side and police and paramilitaries on the other were seen exchanging tear gas canisters. Security forces, who have blocked all areas of Islamabad since Sunday, have also fired rubber bullets, and the Internet is inaccessible in several areas. According to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, “four paramilitaries were killed” on Tuesday after thousands of supporters defied a large police deployment in the capital. The Prime Minister, Shebhaz Sharif, declared that they had “been run over by a vehicle during an attack” carried out “by demonstrators”. Authorities report that one police officer was killed and that nine others are in critical condition, without giving further details on the circumstances. Since Sunday, “more than 20,000 members of the security forces have been deployed in and around Islamabad,” Mohammed Taqi, spokesperson for the capital’s police, announced to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Mr. Naqvi warned on Monday, while visiting D-Chowk in the night, the place where supporters of the former cricket star planned to gather: “Those who come here will be arrested. » Faced with the risk of violence, American diplomacy “urged”, Monday evening from Washington, “the demonstrators to demonstrate peacefully”, and “at the same time” “asked the Pakistani authorities to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms “. Schools closed, Internet cut The call to demonstrate had been launched for Sunday. The demonstrators left from the provinces bordering the capital, Punjab, in the east, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stronghold of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI, Pakistan Movement for Justice), the opposition party of Mr. . Khan, in the West. It took them more than forty-eight hours to arrive in Islamabad, the administrative capital of the fifth most populous country in the world, where all the political institutions and the prison where Mr. Khan, 72, is incarcerated. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In Pakistan, the party of the imprisoned former prime minister is threatened with banning Read later In response to what the PTI presents as “its last act”, the authorities have pulled out all the stops. At the start of the week, Islamabad had triggered “article 144”, which prohibits any gathering of more than four people for two months. Punjab, where more than half of Pakistanis live, followed suit on Saturday, with a similar decision, but limited to three days. Le Monde Mémorable Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Discover “Given the scale of the preparations, one wonders if the Islamabad police are preparing for war”, Dawn, the leading English-language daily, asked in its editorial on Wednesday. Throughout the capital, for days, hundreds of containers have been placed across the roads by cranes. “Islamabad will once again transform into “Containeristan”, as locals call it. Is this really necessary, the question arises,” continues Dawn. Islamabad’s schools, which did not reopen Monday morning, will remain closed on Tuesday, authorities announced, while the interior ministry warned that “the mobile Internet network and Wi-Fi will be cut in areas where there are security dangers. “Arbitrary” detention, according to the UN The Pakistan Human Rights Commission (HRCP), the main non-governmental organization defending freedoms in the country, believes that “blocking access to the capital, by closing the main roads in Punjab and of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, penalizes ordinary citizens, and in particular daily wage workers whose income depends on freedom of movement.” The head of the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, had since Sunday called on his supporters to “go to Islamabad and stay there until Imran Khan, our leaders and our members are released from prison”. Addressing the authorities, he added: “You can shoot at us, bomb us and block the roads with your containers. If it gets out of hand, you will be responsible. » Mr. Khan, in power from 2018 to 2022, is being prosecuted before various courts mainly for cases of corruption or violent demonstrations by his supporters. In July, a panel of United Nations (UN) experts described his detention as “arbitrary”, calling for his “immediate” release. His supporters mobilized massively during his arrest more than a year ago and continue to demonstrate regularly. Recently, ten deputies from his party were arrested and presented to an anti-terrorism judge a few days after the adoption of a law regulating demonstrations in Islamabad. Read also | In Pakistan, Parliament adopts a controversial judicial reform Read later Le Monde with AFP



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