Pakistan police crackdown clears Khan protesters from Islamabad

Lockdown in the capital lifted after protesters, who forced their way into city on Tuesday amid deadly clashes, cleared.

Pakistan protests: Security forces crackdown on Imran Khan supporters

Pakistan’s security forces have driven supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan from the capital, Islamabad, following a sweeping crackdown overnight.

Authorities reopened roads linking the city with the rest of the country, ending a four-day lockdown, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Wednesday, confirming that the capital had been cleared.

Security personnel arrested hundreds of protesters during the operation and cleared the centre of the city of thousands who had gathered to demand the release of the politician, who alleges the charges are politically motivated.

On Wednesday morning, city workers were cleaning up debris and clearing the shipping containers that had been used by authorities to block roads leading into the capital to halt the protesters’ march.

The march on the capital was called by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. It had planned to stage a sit-in to press for the release of Khan, who has been jailed since August 2023 in connection with more than 150 cases. The cricketer-turned-politician claims the cases were intended to prevent his comeback in contested elections this year.

Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, spearheaded the convoy that on Tuesday broke through security lines leading to the edge of the Red Zone, which houses government buildings and embassies.

More than 10,000 protesters confronted about 20,000 security personnel in deadly clashes that saw several people killed, including four paramilitary soldiers.

Late on Tuesday, the army took control of D-Chowk, a large square in the