In Pakistan, supporters of Imran Khan leave central Islamabad after violent clashes with police

Police officers try to disperse supporters of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party, who are demanding the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in Islamabad, November 26, 2024. AAMIR QURESHI / AFP Supporters of Imran Khan, from afar the most popular man in Pakistan, left the center of Islamabad on the morning of Wednesday, November 27. All that remained of the clashes of the day before were car wrecks and debris. The authorities waited until night fell on Tuesday evening to launch their operation and disperse the supporters of the former prime minister (2018-2022), incarcerated since August 2023 and prosecuted in hundreds of cases for having shaken the whole military power. “Security forces attacked unarmed protesters and fired live ammunition. Many were injured, others died. We do not have figures at the moment,” said Faisal Amin Khan Gandapur, MP of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice, PTI), Imran Khan’s party, on Tuesday evening. To respond to their champion’s “final call” to demonstrate, Mr. Khan’s supporters defied the government, which had banned their gathering. The processions set off on Sunday, November 24, leaving Punjab, Imran Khan’s political stronghold, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PTI stronghold, to converge on the capital. Protesters faced significant blockades across the country, but thousands of them began reaching Islamabad on Tuesday morning. Islamabad under siege The capital, which hosted the visit of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, had been placed under siege. Containers had been placed across the roads. Some 20,000 members of the security forces had been deployed. Schools were closed, and no neighborhood escaped Internet and mobile phone outages. None of this was enough to discourage the demonstrators, who braved barricades and tear gas to enter a highly secure area of ​​the capital, near the headquarters of the country’s institutions, where they had planned to hold a sit-down. in to demand the release of the former prime minister. Throughout their journey, they were galvanized by Mr Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, who had just been released from prison after being released on bail. Alongside the chief executive of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Ali Amin Gandapur, she led one of the processions, aboard an imposing, highly secure truck overflowing with supporters. Bushra Bibi, presented as a Sufi healer, whose face is always hidden behind a veil, fled before being arrested on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. Like Mr. Gandapur. “All we wanted from day one was a peaceful gathering. Why create so much trouble? », Regrets Zulfi Bukhari, former collaborator of Imran Khan. You have 61.33% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.



Source link