Islamabad has been placed on lockdown as demonstrators converged from everywhere in the nation
The Pakistani capital of Islamabad has been locked down as supporters of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan have been arriving in droves from everywhere in the nation to demand his launch from jail.
Khan was toppled in April 2022 by the primary no-confidence vote within the nation’s historical past, reportedly on request of the US as a result of he was too pleasant to Russia. He has since been imprisoned on an ever-changing sequence of expenses. Rejecting the allegations as politically motivated, Khan has known as on his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) get together to assemble within the capital.
“These aren’t strange instances. These individuals have been craving for a Pakistan the place justice and the rule of regulation is supreme, and the state serves the individuals, not the elites. That is precisely what Imran Khan guarantees. Therefore, Imran Khan, being their solely hope, have to be launched, and that is their closing demand,” the PTI mentioned in a press release on Monday.
These are the most recent visuals from Islamabad proper now, the place hundreds and hundreds of individuals are marching peacefully in direction of the capital. These aren’t strange instances. These individuals have been craving for a Pakistan the place justice and the rule of regulation is supreme, and the state… pic.twitter.com/aMd3EDGj6M
— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 25, 2024
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s authorities has accused Khan of a “well-thought out conspiracy” and vowed to arrest each protester who tries to get into the capital. The “purple zone” of Islamabad, residence to all of the parliamentary and authorities buildings, has been “fully sealed off” by barricades product of delivery containers, The Guardian reported on Monday.
The authorities have blocked roads in lots of elements of Pakistan and deployed tens of hundreds of police and militia, aiming to forestall the PTI convoys from reaching the capital. Cellular web and messaging providers resembling WhatsApp have been blocked within the provinces of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Greater than 70,000 individuals had been marching on Islamabad from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone, based on PTI spokesman Shaikh Waqas Akram, and intend to encompass the capital on three sides.
“The police in Punjab and different locations have fired rubber bullets, expired shells and stun grenades at us. They’re attempting to cease a peaceable protest for the discharge of Khan,” Akram advised reporters. The PTI got here ready, he added, bringing automobiles geared up with followers to disperse the gasoline.
“Till Imran is with us, we won’t finish this march,” Khan’s spouse Bishra Bibi mentioned in a speech on Monday, vowing to “keep there until my final breath.” Bibi was just lately launched from jail herself, after the federal government’s case towards her and Khan for allegedly violating Islamic regulation with their marriage collapsed on attraction.
The secretary-general of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Ahsan Iqbal, accused Khan of attempting to bypass the courts through the use of the road protests.
“He should clear himself from the instances registered towards him. With out this, the federal government can’t launch him,” mentioned Iqbal, who can also be the minister for Planning, Improvement, and Particular Initiatives in Sharif’s authorities.
Khan was initially charged underneath anti-terrorism legal guidelines, then on corruption expenses, then for improperly receiving items from overseas international locations, then for revealing state secrets and techniques, and eventually for violating Islamic regulation along with his marriage. New accusations can be leveled as quickly as every earlier sentence was reversed on attraction. The latest allegations declare that Khan incited violence by his supporters at a protest in September. He’s presently held within the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.
The PTI claims to have gained the favored vote within the February election however maintains that Sharif and the navy rigged the depend to remain in energy. They demand the discharge of Khan and all different political prisoners and the holding of free and truthful elections.
