ISLAMABAD (AP) On Monday, thousands of supporters of Pakistan’s imprisoned former premier Imran Khan went to the capital to urge his release, despite a lockdown and extensive arrests.
Khan, who is facing more than 150 criminal counts and has been incarcerated for more than a year, is nonetheless well-liked. The cases are politically motivated, according to his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI.
The lengthy march takes place before Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, visits Islamabad.
Later on Monday, the demonstrators’ procession of cars is anticipated to arrive in the capital. Although the PTI says the number would be far greater, security sources said they anticipate between 9,000 and 11,000 protesters.
The two-day curfew has caused disruptions to day-to-day activities. It is almost tough to travel between Islamabad and other cities these days. Cars and ambulances were observed reversing course from locations along Punjab province’s main Grand Trunk Road route where roadways were blocked by cargo containers.
Supporters of imprisoned former premier Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, burn bushes to reduce the impact of tear gas shells fired by police officers to disperse them during a rally demanding Khan’s release, at a motorway in Ghazi in Attock district, Pakistan, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Maaz Awan)
Image: Maaz Awan/Associated Press
Some demonstrators who had been traveling all night were seen using heavy gear to remove the containers in footage that has been making the rounds online.
PTI senior leader Kamran Bangash told The Associated Press, “We are determined and we will reach Islamabad, even though police are using tear gas to stop our march.” Our supporters are clearing shipping containers from the roadways, and we will overcome each obstacle one at a time.
Bangash added that Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Khan’s party is still in power, and Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, who was recently freed on bail in a graft case, would lead the march.
Sitting aboard a truck, Bibi, dressed in a white head-to-toe burqa, spoke to demonstrators over 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Islamabad, telling them to not give up on their mission to release Khan. After chanting, “God is great,” she departed.
The present government is led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Khan’s principal political rival.
Attaullah Tarar, the spokesperson for Sharif, claimed on Sunday that the PTI always starts the politics of long marches and attacks on Islamabad to hurt the economy whenever a prominent foreign team visits Pakistan.
According to some experts, protests harm the nation’s already vulnerable economy to the tune of billions of rupees.
On Sunday night, police used tear gas to scatter crowds while protesters set fire to trees. Supporters of Khan replied by throwing rocks at security guards and using slingshots.
Since Friday, police have arrested over 4,000 Khan supporters and stopped internet and mobile connections in regions where there are security concerns in an attempt to thwart the protest. The PTI claimed that these actions had an impact on the effectiveness of its social media call for protest. A court on Thursday banned gatherings in the capital, and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi threatened to arrest anyone who disobeyed the order.
Khan was overthrown by a no-confidence vote in Parliament in 2022, and authorities believe that only courts have the authority to order his release. Since his initial conviction in a graft case in August 2023, he has been incarcerated.
Khan has also received multiple sentences under Pakistani law, including three, ten, fourteen, and seven years to be served concurrently. Even though his convictions were eventually reversed on appeal, he is still unable to be released because of other matters that are still ongoing against him.
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This article was written by Asim Tanveer in Multan and Riaz Khan in Peshawar for the Associated Press.
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