Pakistan: protests, internet shutdowns and a capital in Lockdown

Pakistan: protests, internet shutdowns and a capital in Lockdown

On Tuesday, thousands of supporters from Pakistan's arrested former prime minister Imran Khan Barrikaden and marched to the capital Islamabad, where there were clashes with the security forces. They demanded the release of Khan, which is detained.

safety measures of the state

The authorities have introduced a comprehensive security center in the country, imposed Internet shutdowns and blocked important roads to the capital in order to prevent protesters from entering. This happened after Khan called his supporters to march to parliament.

Mohsin Naqvi, the interior minister of Pakistan, told journalists that the protesters could remain on the outskirts of Islamabad, but threatened drastic measures if they were to enter the city.

Review of the protests

The latest protests took place, while Islamabad reinforced the security measures for the official visit to the Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukaschenko, who on Monday talks with the Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the capital

A convoy of vehicles with protesters set motion from the city of Peshawar on Sunday, with the aim of reaching the capital, which is about 180 kilometers away. Under the leadership of Khan's wife Bushra Bibi and the Prime Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, the demonstrators planned a seat strike on the D-Chowk, a large place near Parliament.

confrontations with the security forces

The protesters reached the city offices of Islamabad on Monday and ignored a two -day security blockdown and the ban on meetings. On their way, the police used tear gas to dispel the masses and blocked streets with containers.

videos showed a police post in flames and several fires on the highway. According to Reuters, 22 police vehicles were set on fire just outside of Islamabad and in other places in the province of Punjab.

At least one police officer was killed and several police officers and demonstrators were injured in the disputes. Doctors at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences told CNN that five people died, including four security officers and one civilian. Several sources stated that a car drove into the crowd during the protests.

How will it go on?

Naqvi, the Interior Minister Pakistan, said that the security forces had suffered gunshot wounds, but the police showed “reluctance” to protest. He warned that the security forces were authorized to shed back if the protesters exceeded a limit. In addition, he could take additional measures, including the imposition of an output lock or the military deployed.

"The Rangers could open the fire and after five minutes there are no more protesters there," said Naqvi. "Everyone who comes here is arrested." The Pakistan Tehreek-E-Inf (PTI) of Khan has accused the government of applying excessive violence and claims that "shots were fired at peaceful demonstrators". The PTI reported that about two dozen protesters were injured.

background of the protests

The protesters call for the release of Khan and what his supporters consider as political prisoners. In addition, they would like to withdraw a new constitutional change that gives the government more power to select judges and to entrust them with the decisions about political cases.

The followers of Khans also believe that the February were not free and fair, and describe the result as a "stolen mandate". Khan was discontinued by a vote of no confidence in parliament in 2022 and has since led a broad campaign against the current government of Prime Minister Sharif, which he accused of working with the military to remove him from office.

The former star cricket player, who has changed into a populist politician, has been in prison for over a year now and sees dozens of criminal proceedings that from corruption extend to the betrayal of state secrets-all allegations are denied by him and his party. Khan and the Pti-the largest opposition party in the country-, and his detention further fueled the already tense conflicts between the mighty military of the country and its supporters.

Khan has repeatedly asked his supporters to go on the streets and to demand his release. In several cities there was already

The protests take place in a sensitive time for Pakistan, which in the last few months of a Welle "> Sectarian violence and Separatist military attacks have.