Islamabad: As the situation worsened in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad amid fierce protests demanding the release of former prime minister Imran Khan, the government asked the army to intervene. As a sea of protesters flooded the streets of Islamabad, clashes with the police left at least four cops and a civilian dead.
According to a Bloomberg report, when the Pakistan Army stepped in, it issued “shoot at sight” orders under Section 245 – which is a clause meant for the armed forces “to defend Pakistan against external aggression or threat of war”. The clause also gives the army an open hand as it nullifies any judicial intervention or future proceedings.
The local media in Pakistan also reportedly said that the Army’s order instructed soldiers to “not spare anyone”.
Protesters in Pakistan have defied police warnings and been demanding the release of former prime minister Imran Khan. Tens of thousands of citizens from across Pakistan descended on the streets of Islamabad with sticks, stones and catapults.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who was prime minister for little over 3 years between 2018 and 2022, has for years since been imprisoned and banished by the Pakistani establishment. Despite having a mass following in Pakistan, Mr Khan has been barred from contesting elections. He is now charged with dozens of legal cases from cheating and corruption to vandalism and arson, and even accused of sedition and treason – all of which he says is to frame him in order to prevent him from a political comeback.
The elections in Pakistan, held in February this year, have been marred by allegations of rigging by parties opposing Imran Khan. Though Mr Khan was barred from standing for election, his party contested the polls.
Imran Khan’s party won more seats than any other party in the election, but a coalition of parties considered more pliable to military influence shut them out of power. The protest now in Islamabad has these two main demands – ‘Release Imran Khan’, and overturn the allegedly rigged election results.
Imran Khan’s party – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI – has defied all government crackdowns by holding frequent rallies across the country showing a resolve against attempts to end his political career. The current rally in Islamabad is the largest protest in support of Imran Khan since he was jailed last year in August. He was jailed on several occasions prior to that as well.
Though the protests were meant to be peaceful, they turned violent after a police push back in which four policemen and a civilian were killed and nearly a dozen people critically injured.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has blamed “disruptive elements” who “do not seek a revolution but instead, seek bloodshed.” He went on to say that “This is not a peaceful protest, it is extremism,” claiming that those who were killed had been “run over by a vehicle”.
Islamabad has been under siege since Saturday and has seen a total crackdown since then. More than 20,000 policemen and several columns of soldiers have been called in with batons, guns, rifles, tear gas shells, and riot gear. The city has also been fortified and several arterial roads leading to the government district under clamp down. Mobile phone connectivity has also been cut sporadically. Drones are also being used to monitor the protesters. The government has also imposed a two-month ban on all public gatherings, short of declaring a state of emergency.
