Imran Khan supporters call off protest after crackdown – media

Supporters of imprisoned former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan announced a “temporary suspension” of street protests in Pakistan’s capital on Wednesday after a midnight raid by the country’s security forces, according to media reports.

The protest was called by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, and thousands of his supporters marched on Islamabad starting on Sunday to demand his release.

Khan, 71, who is currently imprisoned on corruption charges, was ousted in April 2022. He has since faced more than 150 indictments, which his party has denounced as politically motivated.

Local broadcaster Geo News cited a statement on Wednesday by the PTI, announcing the “temporary suspension of our peaceful protest” due to the government’s “brutality.”

The PTI reportedly said at least eight of its members had been killed in a standoff with law enforcement agencies during a Tuesday night crackdown.

Some media, including Geo News, reported that a massive raid had been launched by security forces in central Islamabad, where lights had been turned off and a barrage of tear gas was fired.

Police had earlier said no lethal arms were used in Tuesday night’s operation, and nearly 1,000 protesters had been arrested. Media also cited government officials as stating that several security personnel, including four paramilitary soldiers, had been killed during the clashes. More than 10,000 protesters reportedly confronted around 20,000 security personnel.

Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters on Wednesday that authorities had reopened roads linking Islamabad with the rest of the country after protesters had been dispersed.

Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, who was leading the protest, reportedly escaped unhurt and police are known to be seeking her arrest. Bibi was recently released from prison herself after the government’s case against her and Khan for allegedly violating Islamic law with their marriage collapsed on appeal.

Khan, who is currently detained in the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi, was initially charged under anti-terrorism laws, then on corruption charges, then for improperly receiving gifts from foreign countries, then for revealing state secrets, and finally for violating Islamic law with his marriage.

The former prime minister had accused the Pakistani military and the United States of plotting his ouster, claiming that Washington had conspired to overthrow his government after he visited Russia.

The PTI, which claims to have won the popular vote in the February election but maintains that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the military rigged the count to stay in power, reportedly stated on Wednesday that it would soon announce its future course of action.