Pakistani police clash with supporters of former Prime Minister Khan in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD – Police in Pakistan's capital fired tear gas Friday as they confronted supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who were holding an anti-government rally in defiance of a ban on gatherings in the city.

Authorities had cordoned off Islamabad and blocked mobile phone services to prevent the rally, with the city on high alert ahead of a series of high-level diplomatic events, including a visit by India's business minister foreign countries, planned over the next two years. weeks.

Shipping containers blocked entry points into Islamabad, guarded by large numbers of police and paramilitary troops.

However, dozens of Khan's supporters escaped the blockades. Some, including the former prime minister's sisters, were arrested by law enforcement, Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and local media said.

“Free Imran! Free Imran!” Dozens of protesters chanted, waving photos of the Khan and PTI flags, less than a kilometer from the city's red zone, which is home to the country's parliament and a walled enclave of foreign embassies.

It was the latest in a series of protest rallies since last month to press for Khan's release and to protest the ruling coalition, which the PTI calls illegitimate, saying it was formed after fraudulent elections.

“It is their right to hold a rally, but it is not the right time or the right way,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters, referring to diplomatic events in the capital.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was in Islamabad on Thursday and Friday as the city also prepares to host a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on October 15-16.

This event will also bring together Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. He will be the first Indian foreign minister to visit Pakistan in almost a decade, with relations between the two rival neighbors remaining frosty.

Naqvi said a Saudi delegation and Chinese Premier Li Qiang would arrive in Islamabad before the conference.

The government called in the army to provide security in the capital starting Saturday ahead of the events, Geo News reported.

Naqvi had urged Khan's supporters to delay their protest until after the SCO conference.

However, Khan asked his supporters to gather outside Parliament, regardless of the obstacles. “This war has entered a decisive phase,” he posted on X.

A convoy of Khan supporters approaching the capital from the northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa also clashed with police, who fired tear gas at them, Geo News reported.

Even though Khan has been in prison since August 2023, the candidates he supports won the most seats in February's elections, although their numbers were insufficient to form a government.

His opponents, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, formed a coalition government.

Schools were closed in Islamabad as well as the adjacent garrison town of Rawalpindi, where mobile phone services were also suspended. REUTERS

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