Imran Khan supporters in showdown with Pakistan forces: What we know

Violent clashes continue in Islamabad as security forces use tear gas, rubber bullets to disperse advancing protesters.

Pakistan’s capital in lockdown as Imran Khan supporters protest

Thousands of Pakistani protesters demanding the release of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan have forced their way through security barriers and defied a lockdown to enter the capital, Islamabad.

The demonstrators from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, many wielding slingshots and sticks, clashed with security forces on Tuesday as they tried to reach a central square – D-Chowk – in the face of tear gas and rubber bullets. By early afternoon, many had reached the square.

The government has invoked Article 245 of the constitution, which allows a civilian government to call in the army to help it implement “law and order” domestically.

Convoys of protesters started making their way to Islamabad on Sunday from different parts of the country, led by various PTI leaders.

The main convoy from Peshawar in the restive northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a party stronghold, was led by Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi alongside Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

On Monday, Bibi told Khan’s supporters that the protests would continue until he was freed.

Before the demonstration, police detained more than 4,000 protesters across the country, and the government suspended mobile and internet services.

Khan, 72, was first arrested on May 9, 2023, in a corruption case. The Supreme Court ordered his release two days later, but he was arrested again in August 2023 and sentenced in a case related to the illegal sale of state gifts. He has been in detention ever since.

The former prime minister, who was removed from power in April 2022 after