Pakistan capital at standstill as Khan supporters protest

Pakistan’s capital was locked down on Saturday, swarmed by security forces with mobile internet cut as supporters of jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan attempted to seize the streets in protest.

Khan was barred from standing in the February elections that were marred by allegations of rigging, sidelined by dozens of legal cases.

But his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has defied a crackdown to needle the government with regular demonstrations.

PTI activists began driving to Islamabad on Friday from Khan’s power base in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but were met with shipping container roadblocks and volleys of tear gas.

Islamabad is on high alert ahead of a series of top-level diplomatic events over the next two weeks, including a visit by India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the authorities had intelligence that the protesters planned to disrupt the SCO conference in a bid to gain attention.