Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party called off a protest in the capital Islamabad on Wednesday after a crackdown by security forces that arrested hundreds of supporters and forced the rest to flee.
Thousands of Khan’s supporters led by his wife converged on Islamabad from his stronghold province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the northwest on Monday, vowing to force the government to release him.
The protesters turned violent and killed at least six members of the security forces as they headed to their camp outside the country’s parliament.
Thousands of police and paramilitary troops in riot gear began an operation to clear the protests shortly before midnight.
Khan’s supporters and protest leaders fled the capital after resisting tear gas shelling and rubber bullets for about two hours, his party said.
The party claimed six protesters had been killed, but hospitals in the city said they had received two bodies of civilians and several dozen people with gunshot wounds.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the government was forced to order the crackdown after Khan’s party challenged the state, adding that it had plans to storm parliament.
Schools in Islamabad remained closed for a third day on Wednesday, while street traffic was light as roads reopened after a security lockdown since Saturday.
Khan, who ruled Pakistan between 2018 and 2022, has been in prison for more than a year after being convicted on several charges: he is being tried on many counts.
Khan’s party controlled Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, from where his supporters periodically initiated protests for his release.
