At least six people have died in riots in Pakistan after protesters calling for the release of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan broke through a ring of shipping containers locking down Islamabad on Tuesday.
Demonstrators clashed with police and security forces, ignoring official threats that unrest would be met with gunfire.
The dead include at least four troops and a civilian, who were run over when a vehicle rammed into them on a street.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who replaced the incarcerated Khan in 2022, claimed that an “anarchist group” was behind the ramming and deliberately targeted law enforcement, but there were no claims of responsibility for the ramming.
“It is not a peaceful protest. It is extremism,” Sharif said, saying the bloodshed was aimed at “evil political designs.”
Zulfikar Bukhari, spokesman for Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), said “no protesters ran over any rangers,” referring to the paramilitary troops.
“In fact, there are videos viral on social media of protesters protecting and hugging rangers. This is a narrative the government is trying to create so they have the license to kill.”
The interior ministry confirmed the killings, but did not say who was responsible.
Another police officer died in a separate incident.
Shortly after midnight, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced that security forces would respond with live rounds if protesters fired on them.
“If they again fire bullets, the bullet will be responded with the bullet,” he said, while police used tear gas in an attempt to disperse the mob.
Media in the country have largely ceased coverage of the protest itself, instead focusing their attention on the security measures and Islamabad’s empty streets.
At last notice, Khan’s supporters were around 6.2 miles from the capital’s Red Zone, the area that houses key government buildings.
Naqvi said Khan’s party rejected a government offer to hold the rally on the outskirts of the city.
Leading the protest is Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, who told supporters to keep marching toward the Red Zone peacefully.
She added that another plan would be announced if her husband was not released and urged the government not to harm the demonstrators.
In a bid to foil the protest, police recently arrested more than 4,000 Khan supporters and suspended mobile and internet services in some parts of the country.
On Thursday, a court order banned rallies in Islamabad, and Naqvi said anyone violating the ban would be arrested.
All educational institutions are shut down, and mobile internet services and messaging platforms are experiencing severe disruption in the capital.
PTI relies heavily on social media and messaging apps to share information, and plan protests
X, for example, is no longer accessible in the country even with a virtual private network (VPN), which were recently declared “haram” by the nation’s top cleric.
Khan was ousted by a parliamentary vote of no confidence in 2022 after he fell out with the Pakistani military, and faces charges ranging from corruption to instigating violence, all of which he and his party deny.
The military is widely perceived as the kingmaker in the country of 241 million people.
Candidates backed by Khan’s party won the most seats in February’s general election, but Sharif was able to knit together enough parties to form a coalition and retain power.
Khan and the PTI say the polls were rigged following a military-backed crackdown to keep him out of power.
The army has denied charges of election manipulation.
The violence comes as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is in the country for a state visit.
Shares in the country’s stock market are down 3 percent amid the clashes.
