Pakistan violence: Imran Khan supporters march on Islamabad, clash with police after sectarian clashes
Supporters of jailed former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan marched on the Pakistani capital Islamabad as police locked down the city.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The capital of Pakistan was locked down Monday as supporters of jailed former leader Imran Khan marched on the city to demand his release. It is the latest upheaval to hit this nuclear-armed United States ally after days of deadly clashes between rival sectarian groups.
That violence between warring Sunni and Shia Muslim factions was halted with an uneasy truce Sunday, though reports of skirmishes continued to emerge from the country’s often-unruly, mountainous northwest.
Just as that crisis cooled, however, authorities in the capital Islamabad were scrambling to block highways with shipping containers and restricting internet coverage, as police began to clash with those backing Khan, a former cricket icon turned ex-prime minister. Protesters and police traded accusations of brutality, with the police saying one of their number had been killed and more than 70 injured.
Khan remains a popular figure in this Muslim-majority country of more than 230 million people. That’s despite his imprisonment a year ago on some 150 charges including corruption, leaking state secrets and violating Islamic law. Supporters say these are trumped-up allegations, part of a wider effort to keep him and his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) off the ballot in elections earlier this year — and out of power.
Supporters of Imran Khan during a rally in Swabi on Sunday.Abdul Majeed / AFP - Getty ImagesThese backers organized what they called a “final call” or a “long march” on Islamabad on Monday, with officials saying the convoy of vehicles numbered 9,000-10,000 supporters. Video posted by the PTI showed marchers, led by Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, dancing, drumming and waving flags as they closed in on the capital. Fleets of cars, trucks and motorbikes spanned the road, many of them flying the red and green PTI flag.
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