Thousands of supporters of Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan broke through barricades around the capital Tuesday and marched into Islamabad, clashing with security forces and demanding his release.
Authorities have enforced a security lockdown in the country, imposed internet blackouts and barricaded major roads leading into the capital to prevent protesters from entering, after Khan called for his supporters to march on parliament.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters that protesters could remain on the outskirts of Islamabad, but threatened extreme measures if they entered the city.
The latest protests came as Islamabad bolstered security for an official visit by Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who arrived in the capital on Monday for three days of talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Here’s what to know.
What’s happening?
A convoy of vehicles carrying protesters set off from the city of Peshawar Sunday as part of a “long march” with the aim of reaching the capital, about 180 kilometers (110 miles) away.
Led by Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and Ali Amin Gandapur, chief minister in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province – where Khan’s party remains in power – the protesters planned to hold a sit-in at D-Chowk, a large square near the country’s parliament.
Protesters reached the outskirts of Islamabad Monday, defying a two-day security lockdown and a ban on rallies. Along the way, police fired tear gas to disperse the crowds and blocked roads with shipping containers to prevent them pushing through.
Video showed a police post ablaze and several fires on the highway. Reuters reported 22 police vehicles were torched just outside Islamabad and elsewhere in Punjab province.
By Tuesday morning, protesters had breached the city limits and a large crowd was gathered at Zero Point, an interchange well inside the city.
Soldiers could be seen outside key government buildings in Islamabad, including parliament, the Supreme Court and the Secretariat.
Will the protests continue?
Naqvi, Pakistan’s interior minister, said security forces had suffered bullet wounds, but police were “showing restraint” with protesters.
He warned that if protesters crossed the line, security forces had been authorized to fire back, and he could take extra measures including imposing a curfew or deploying the military.
“Rangers could open fire and there will be no protesters there after five minutes,” Naqvi said. “Anyone who reaches here will be arrested.”
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has accused the government of using excessive force, saying “bullets were fired at protesters” who it described as “peaceful.” The PTI said about two dozen protesters had been injured.
In recent days, thousands of Khan supporters have been arrested in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces as authorities tried to prevent the protest march.
Schools in Islamabad and nearby Rawalpindi closed on Monday and Tuesday, and officials and witnesses said all public transport between cities and terminals had been shut down, according to Reuters.
PTI senior leader Kamran Bangash said protesters were “determined, and we will reach Islamabad,” adding that “we will overcome all hurdles one by one.”
Why are they protesting?
Protesters are demanding the release of Khan and what his supporters deem political prisoners. They also want a new constitutional amendment to be repealed, which has increased the government’s power to select superior court justices and pick those judges to hear political cases.
Khan’s supporters also believe February elections were not free and fair, calling it a “stolen mandate.”
Khan was ousted in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022 and has since led a popular campaign against the current government led by Prime Minister Sharif, accusing it of colluding with the military to remove him from office.
The former star cricketer turned populist politician has been in jail for over a year and faces dozens of criminal cases ranging from corruption to leaking state secrets, all of which he and his party deny.
Khan and the PTI – the country’s largest opposition party – remain popular, and his detention has turbocharged an already tense showdown between the country’s powerful military and his supporters.
Khan has repeatedly urged his supporters to take to the streets demanding his release, and violence has broken out in several cities.
A march to Islamabad from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in early October demanding Khan’s release was met with similar road blockades and mobile and internet cuts and ended in clashes with police.
The protests come at a sensitive time for Pakistan, which has seen a wave of sectarian violence and separatist militant attacks that have killed dozens of people in recent months.