Pakistani authorities arrested nearly 1,000 supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan who stormed the capital this week to demand his release, the city's police chief said on Wednesday.
Khan's aides alleged, without immediately providing evidence, that hundreds had suffered gunshot wounds during chaotic scenes overnight in the heart of Islamabad as police dispersed protesters led by Khan's wife who had broken through security barricades. They also said thousands had been arrested.
Islamabad's police chief, Ali Rizvi, denied that live ammunition had been used during the operation, which he said police had conducted alongside paramilitary forces.
Rizvi said 600 protesters had been arrested in Tuesday's operation, bringing the total since the protest sit-in began on Sunday to 954.
He said weapons, including automatic rifles and tear gas guns, were seized from the protest site where thousands had gathered. The site was cleared in a matter of hours.
Ali Amin Gandapur, a top Khan aide and chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province who was a part of the protests and fled when the operation began, accused the authorities of using excessive force against protesters who he said were peaceful.
He said "hundreds" had sustained bullet wounds.
Pakistan's information minister and an Islamabad police spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the allegation.
"Both Imran Khan's wife and I were attacked directly," Gandapur told a press conference in the city of Mansehra, in the province he rules.
Khan's wife Bushra Khan escaped unhurt. Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had said she would address the press conference with Gandapur, but she did not appear even though the event was delayed by hours.
PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari PTI said earlier that the protest seeking Khan's release had been called off, citing what he called "the massacre". But Gandapur said the protest would continue until Khan himself called it off.
t least six people - four paramilitary soldiers and two protesters - had been killed in the protests before the overnight clashes, according to PTI.
But the office of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi denied this. "As of now, no death has been reported, and the claims circulating regarding any such incidents are baseless and unverified," it said in a statement.
Visiting protest sites on Wednesday, Naqvi said law enforcement agencies had successfully cleared protesters from the site of the sit-in and other areas of the capital.
He called on PTI to provide any evidence of the firing of live ammunition by security forces, and said it had not provided any details of deaths of its supporters.
Geo News and broadcaster ARY both said security forces had raided the site in central Islamabad in complete darkness, and that a barrage of tear gas had been fired.
The protesters were almost completely dispersed, they added.
On Wednesday, city workers were clearing debris and moving away some of the shipping containers authorities had used to block roads around the capital.
The red zone - the fortified area that is home to parliament, the diplomatic enclave and other key buildings - was empty of protesters, but several of their vehicles were left behind, including the remains of a truck used by Bushra Khan that appeared charred by flames.
The PTI had planned on maintaining a sit-in in the red zone until Khan, who has been in jail since August last year, was freed.
Pakistan's benchmark share index (.KSE), opens new tab jumped more than 5%, after falling 3.6% on Tuesday on news of clashes.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told a televised cabinet meeting that the struggling economy could ill afford a paralysing protest that had cost it 190 billion rupees ($680 million) a day.
($1 = 277.8000 Pakistani rupees)
Hundreds of people gathered for a second consecutive week at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, on Friday (12 December), to support the family of Master Sg...
Britain’s King Charles III said on Friday, 12 December, that his cancer treatment is expected to be reduced in the coming year, using a televised ad...
Talks aimed at ending the war between Ukraine and Russia are set to continue in Berlin this weekend, with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff due to meet Ukraini...
Türkiye’s Trade Minister Omer Bolat said Friday that discussions in Washington with U.S. officials have strengthened efforts to expand bilateral tr...
Lebanon is prepared to demarcate its border with Syria, President Joseph Aoun said on Friday, while noting that the dispute over the Shebaa Farms coul...
Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif held talks on Friday during the International Peace and Trust Forum in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, focusing on bilateral relations as well as regional and global issues
Pakistan and China are conducting a joint counterterrorism exercise, Warrior IX, to strengthen military cooperation. The drill comes at a time of renewed regional instability, with analysts saying it underscores both countries’ determination to deepen security ties.
Pakistan has indicated its openness to forming a regional bloc with Bangladesh without including India. The statement from Islamabad follows comments by Bangladesh’s top foreign affairs adviser, Md Touhid Hossain, that such an arrangement is strategically possible without India.
Iran is preparing to host a multilateral regional meeting next week in a bid to mediate between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Japan has lifted a tsunami advisory issued after an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9 hit the country's northeastern region on Friday (12 December), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. The JMA had earlier put the earthquake's preliminary magnitude at 6.7.
Iran is preparing to host a multilateral regional meeting next week in a bid to mediate between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The United States issued new sanctions targeting Venezuela on Thursday, imposing curbs on three nephews of President Nicolas Maduro's wife, as well as six crude oil tankers and shipping companies linked to them, as Washington ramps up pressure on Caracas.
The resignation of Bulgaria's government on Thursday (11 December) puts an end to an increasingly unpopular coalition but is likely to usher in a period of prolonged political instability on the eve of the Black Sea nation's entry into the euro zone.
An extratropical cyclone has caused widespread disruption across Brazil’s São Paulo state, with powerful winds toppling trees and power lines, blocking streets and leaving large parts of the region without electricity.
Britain’s King Charles III said on Friday, 12 December, that his cancer treatment is expected to be reduced in the coming year, using a televised address to urge people across the country to take part in cancer screening programmes, officials confirmed.
Talks aimed at ending the war between Ukraine and Russia are set to continue in Berlin this weekend, with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and senior European leaders, a U.S. official said.
Türkiye’s Trade Minister Omer Bolat said Friday that discussions in Washington with U.S. officials have strengthened efforts to expand bilateral trade, moving closer to a $100 billion target.
Lebanon is prepared to demarcate its border with Syria, President Joseph Aoun said on Friday, while noting that the dispute over the Shebaa Farms could be addressed at a later stage.
Greek farmers blocked the Port of Thessaloniki on Friday (12 December) as part of nationwide protests demanding delayed European Union subsidies and compensation for rising production costs and livestock losses.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment