Pakistan’s capital was locked down on Saturday, with security forces swarming internet centers and cutting phones as supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan tried to take to the streets in protests.
Khan was barred from running in the February election, which was marred by allegations of fraud and several court cases were sidelined. However, its affiliate, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has gone to great lengths to upset the government with regular protests.
PTI supporters began entering Islamabad on Friday from its stronghold in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, but were met with barricades and volleys of tear gas. Small, scattered groups stormed into Islamabad on Saturday against the government, which has approved the deployment of troops on the streets, saying it is necessary to ensure security ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. on October 15.
I am happy for all of our people, Khan said in a message posted on social media site X on Saturday afternoon. You showed incredible resilience and courage by coming out yesterday and overcoming a formidable obstacle.
Protests were also planned for Saturday in Lahore, but the highways of the eastern megalopolis and the capital were blocked. Amnesty International said media exclusion and roadblocks violate the rights to freedom of speech, access to information, peaceful assembly and movement.
The restrictions are part of a worrying crackdown on the right to protest in Pakistan, rights groups say. Advertising site
Khan, 72, served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022, when he was ousted in a parliamentary vote of no confidence after falling out with a powerful military establishment seen as Pakistan’s political elite. As the leader of the opposition,
he led an unprecedented campaign of rebellion before running into a judicial system that he said was orchestrated to prevent him from returning to power.
