Nearly 1,000 held in Pakistan after pro-Khan protests

AAMIR QURESHI/ AFP

Pakistani authorities arrested nearly 1,000 supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan who stormed the capital this week to demand his release, the city's police chief said on Wednesday.

Khan's aides alleged, without immediately providing evidence, that hundreds had suffered gunshot wounds during chaotic scenes overnight in the heart of Islamabad as police dispersed protesters led by Khan's wife who had broken through security barricades. They also said thousands had been arrested.

Islamabad's police chief, Ali Rizvi, denied that live ammunition had been used during the operation, which he said police had conducted alongside paramilitary forces.

Rizvi said 600 protesters had been arrested in Tuesday's operation, bringing the total since the protest sit-in began on Sunday to 954.

He said weapons, including automatic rifles and tear gas guns, were seized from the protest site where thousands had gathered. The site was cleared in a matter of hours.

Ali Amin Gandapur, a top Khan aide and chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province who was a part of the protests and fled when the operation began, accused the authorities of using excessive force against protesters who he said were peaceful.

He said "hundreds" had sustained bullet wounds.

"Both Imran Khan's wife and I were attacked directly," Gandapur told a press conference in the city of Mansehra, in the province he rules.

Khan's wife Bushra Khan escaped unhurt. Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had said she would address the press conference with Gandapur, but she did not appear even though the event was delayed by hours.

PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari said earlier that the protest seeking Khan's release had been called off, citing what he called "the massacre". But Gandapur said the protest would continue until Khan himself called it off.

More from International

  • 56 dead at Guinea Soccer Match

    A controversial refereeing decision led to violence and a deadly crush during a soccer match in southeast Guinea, resulting in at least 56 deaths, according to a provisional toll released by the government on Monday.

  • Pro-Iranian armed groups enter Syria to support Syrian army

    Iranian-backed groups entered Syria overnight from Iraq and were heading to northern Syria to beef up Syrian army forces battling a coalition of rebels, according to two Syrian army sources.

  • Egypt hosts Hamas in new Gaza ceasefire push

    Hamas leaders held talks with Egyptian security officials on Sunday in a fresh push for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, two Hamas sources said, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to hold security talks on the matter, two Israeli officials said.

  • UNRWA pauses aid delivery through Kerem Shalom as looting increases

    The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has paused its delivery of aid through the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, citing lack of safety as looting by armed criminal gangs continued. 

  • Biden says he has pardoned his son, Hunter

    US President Joe Biden said on Sunday he had pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, a reversal after pledging to stay out of legal proceedings against the younger Biden who pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges.