Islamabad protests are suspended by Imran Khan’s party; a nighttime crackdown claims at least four lives.
The party claimed to be at Mansehra town, close to Abbotabad, in the northwest province, amid worries over the whereabouts of Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who were heading the march to Islamabad
On Wednesday (November 27, 2024), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protests, the party of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, officially suspended for the time being its protest in Islamabad, citing the authorities’ midnight crackdown that left at least four people dead and more than 50 injured, despite the PTI’s earlier claims that “hundreds” were killed in the violent clashes with security forces.
The party claimed to be at Mansehra town, close to Abbotabad, in the northwest province, amid worries over the whereabouts of Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who were heading the march to Islamabad protests.
Roads were reopened and all main thoroughfares that had been vandalized during the PTI party’s three-day protest were cleaned up by authoritiesprotests.
Although police sources reported that roughly 450 protesters were arrested during the midnight crackdown, Khan’s supporters were forced to leave the D-Chowk and the capital’s nearby main business district, calling the demonstration a “massacre” under the “fascist military regime protests.”
In a press release posted on its official X account, Khan’s PTI stated, “Given the government’s violence and its intention to use the capital as a slaughterhouse for unarmed citizens, (we) announce the suspension of the peaceful protest for the time being.”
Following the presentation of their “analyses of the state brutality” to Khan by the party’s core and political committees, next plans would be declared “in light of directions.”
The alleged “killing” and “terror and brutality against peaceful protesters in the name of an operation” were also denounced in the party statement.
In response to the claimed “brutal murder of martyred (party) workers,” the PTI demanded the Chief Justice to take suo motu notice and direct legal action against the Prime Minister, the Interior Minister, and the police chiefs of Punjab and Islamabad for “attempt to murder.”
As part of their protest march that began on Sunday, November 24, 2024, PTI supporters fought law enforcement earlier Tuesday evening, November 26, 2024, and managed to make it to the D-Chowk for a sit-in. Since Monday, November 25, 2024, at midnight, the fight between the supporters and police has resulted in the deaths of at least six security officers and the injuries of numerous others.
Even as security forces worked to remove the demonstrators from the D-Chowk, which is near several significant government buildings, including the Supreme Court, the Parliament, the PM Office, and the Presidency, Ms. Bushra Bibi and Mr. Gandapur declared that they would not leave until Khan, who had issued the “final call” for protest, was released from jail.
The demonstrators were forced to leave, along with Ms. Bibi and Mr. Gandapur, as police and Rangers began an operation to clear the Blue district commercial district early on Wednesday, November 27, 2024.
Senior PTI leader Taimur Saleem Khan informed the media that Ms. Bibi and Mr. Gandapur were staying at the home of the province’s Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati in the town of Mansehra, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and that they were accompanied by Omar Ayub Khan, the opposition leader of the party’s National Assembly.
The 72-year-old former premier, who has been imprisoned since August of last year, issued a “final call” on November 13 for nationwide protests on November 24. He denounced the 26th amendment’s passage, which he claimed had strengthened a “dictatorial regime,” the stolen mandate, and the arbitrary arrests of people.
At least four people were killed in the nocturnal battles with the security guards.
According to officials, the Polyclinic Hospital in Islamabad received two bodies and 26 injured people, including those who had been shot. Meanwhile, the largest hospital in the capital, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, told Geo News that it had received two dead bodies and 28 injured following the protest.
In response to the midnight crackdown, PTI has earlier accused the government of employing violence to murder hundreds of its employees.
“Under the harsh, fascist military administration headed by the Shehbaz-Zardari-Asim alliance, security personnel in Pakistan have carried out a massacre. In reference to the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari, and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Asim Munir, the post on X stated, “The country is drowning in blood.”
The party claimed that in an attempt to murder as many PTI demonstrators as possible, the armed security personnel opened fire on them with live ammunition.
The post stated, “The interior minister’s threat to kill and subsequent declaration of ‘victory’ over slaughtered innocents is sufficient evidence of the regime’s inhumanity, with hundreds dead and countless injured.”
The party posted images and videos of the brutal crackdown on its social media pages through Tuesday, November 26, 2024, and Wednesday, November 27, 2024.
Information Minister Atta Tarar also criticized Khan’s “final call” for the protest, saying, “Sadly I must say, this was not a final call but a missed call.” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had earlier, at a press conference at D-Chowk following the midnight crackdown, claimed that Mr. Gandapur and Ms. Bushra Bibi had fled. “The way they’ve fled from here will astound you. He asserted, “They’ve left their cars, sandals, and some even their clothes here.”
He said that records describing a strategy to enter the Red Zone and attack parliament were also discovered.
As Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Memon ordered all assistant commissioners to make sure that all closed roads in the city were immediately reopened, life in Islamabad and nearby Rawalpindi was returning to normal.
The deputy commissioner also directed that plans be developed to clean all of the main thoroughfares.
After being closed for four days, all motorways in the nation are now open for travel again, according to motorway authorities.
Eight flights were canceled and seventeen were delayed as a result of the PTI protest, according to aviation authorities, which also caused a major disturbance in flight operations by blocking the main Srinagar Highway to the airport.
At the conclusion of the demonstration, the Pakistani stock exchange unexpectedly recovered, gaining almost 3,000 points after plunging 3,600 points on Tuesday.
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