Several killed and arrested during Imran Khan demonstrations in Islamabad – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

Pakistani security forces are blamed for having pushed a protester out of a barricade of several containers during the large demonstrations that have been in the capital Islamabad. Thousands had gathered there to demand the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is serving a 14-year prison sentence. In advance of the demonstration, security forces had set up large containers to block vegans from entering the capital. Several protesters have shared videos of the incident on social media. The video shows what is supposed to be a protester sitting and asking for a stack of containers to be pushed down by security forces. The condition of the man who was pushed down is unknown, but several accounts write on X that he died from the fall. Both the BBC and The Independent have contacted the authorities about the incident without receiving a response. “Brutal and deadly strikes” The demonstrations to get Khan released started on Sunday. Then thousands marched towards the capital. They gathered at D-Chowk, a large town square in the centre. The police had already clarified that as a “red zone”. They warned the demonstrators against staying there. Photo: AAMIR QURESHI / AFP Photo: AAMIR QURESHI / AFP Photo: Akhtar Soomro / Reuters Photo: AAMIR QURESHI / AFP Bushra Bibi, Khan’s wife who just got out of prison herself, asked the protesters to stay in the square until Khan was released . On the night of Wednesday, security forces entered and broke up the protests. PTI reports that several people were shot at and killed, which the authorities deny. – Once again, protesters in Pakistan have been met with brutal and deadly strikes from the authorities, says Amnesty’s South Asia director, Babu Ram Pant, in a statement from the organisation. The man must have had a seat and a bed when the soldiers approached him. Photo: AAMIR QURESHI / AFP Aimen Mir, deputy leader of the Norwegian organization Insaf, which supports Imran Khan and PTI, says this about the latest events: – Three days ago we had a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to show support for the fight for justice and democracy. On Wednesday we wake up to terrible news. These people were out in the streets peacefully to demand basic democratic rights that they have been deprived of in the last two years. The demonstration, which was called a last call for the release of Khan, even more dramatic. Photo: AAMIR QURESHI / AFP Journalist charged with terrorism Journalist Matiullah Jan is a well-known critic of the Pakistani military regime. On Wednesday, he began work on investigating claims about those killed and injured during the demonstrations. The same evening he was picked up on the street and charged with terrorism, according to his lawyer and a colleague of his, who have spoken to the Reuters news agency. Matiullah Jan, a journalist critical of the regime, has been arrested and charged with terrorism after he began investigating reports of the killing of protesters. Photo: Akhtar Soomro / Reuters A few hours before, Jan had posted a video in which he read from what he said were hospital records. What he read contradicted the information that the authorities had given about the events, namely that the military had not used weapons to break up the protests, and that no one had been killed. Jan’s colleague Saqib Bashir tells Reuters that they were both picked up by men in black uniforms outside the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, where they gathered information about the victims. Bashir is said to have been released again after three hours. Several people report that hospitals in Islamabad have been banned from sharing information about the patients who came in after the protesters clashed with the security forces. – Bet high – What Khan and his party can do is precisely to mobilize the masses. That has been his strength, says journalism professor Elisabeth Eide. She has lived in Pakistan for several periods, and has herself interviewed Khan when he was a younger and promising politician. Khan is like a star to be reckoned with, says Eide. – He is a cricket master, and cricket is huge in Pakistan. He is eloquent and has had his word for being completely non-corrupt. But he has been blamed for corruption by political rivals. In addition, he won many supporters when he opened a hospital for free cancer treatment after his own mother died of cancer. Elisabeth Eide has lived in Pakistan for several periods and interviewed Imran Khan. Photo: Fouad Acharki / news But Khan probably became a little too popular for the military, which has a hand in all political games in Pakistan. Last summer he was arrested on charges of corruption, charges which several lawyers and journalists believe are politically motivated. Since then, his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has organized several demonstrations to get him released. Bushra Bibi and several PTI members during the demonstrations. Photo: Waseem Khan / Reuters The demonstration this week, which started on Sunday and lasted until Wednesday, was called a “last call”. – They almost gave an ultimatum that he should now be released. I think many people will hit back at them, says Eide. – A colleague in Pakistan says that those who were hit by law enforcement were innocent civilians who were mobilized for the protests. Eight are to be killed, PTI claims. They invested very heavily with this demonstration, and now they risk that the whole thing will be branded as a failure, she elaborates. Published 28.11.2024, at 15.27



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