Thousands of Imran Khan supporters braved a lockdown, tear gas shelling, and mass arrests in an attempt to reach Pakistan’s capital on Monday and demand the release of the former prime minister.
Authorities in Islamabad say one police officer has been killed, with several officers and demonstrators injured during the unrest, which has lasted across the country over the weekend and into Monday.
The protesters were trying to reach Islamabad, where a two-day lockdown has disrupted day-to-day life in the city.
Khan—a former cricket player who has been locked up for more than a year and is staring down the barrel of more than 150 criminal cases—remains popular in the country.
His party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) says the charges are politically motivated.
Security officials expect the crowd to be between 9,000 and 11,000 demonstrators, while the PTI says the number will be much higher.
Police were firing tear gas in an attempt to halt the marchers when they were around 15 miles from Islamabad, with clips on social media showing Khan supporters wearing gas masks and goggles, according to the Associated Press.
Travel to and from the capital has become virtually impossible, with ambulances and cars seen turning back from areas along the main Grand Trunk Road highway in Punjab province, where shipping containers had been used to barricade the road over the weekend.
Online footage appeared to show protesters operating heavy machinery to remove the containers.
“We are determined, and we will reach Islamabad, though police are using tear gas to stop our march,” PTI senior leader Kamran Bangash told the Associated Press.
“We will overcome all hurdles one by one, and our supporters are removing shipping containers from roads.”
Bangash also said Khan’s third and current wife, Bushra Bibi, who was recently released on bail, will lead the march along with Ali Amin Gandapur, chief minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the PTI remains in power.
Some 30 miles from Islamabad, Bibi addressed protesters while sitting in a truck, urging them to remain determined to achieve their goal and free Khan.
She then chanted, “God is great” and left.
The march comes as Khan’s main opponent, incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, prepares for the three-day visit of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
His spokesperson Attaullah Tarar said on Sunday that whenever any high-profile foreign delegation comes to Pakistan, the PTI “begins the politics of long marches and onslaught on Islamabad to harm the economy.”
Some economists say protests cause billions of rupees in damages to the country’s fragile economy.
On Sunday night, demonstrators burned trees as police fired tear gas to disperse the crowds. Khan supporters retaliated with slingshots and hurling rocks.
In a bid to foil the protest before it began, police have arrested more than 4,000 Khan supporters since Friday and suspended mobile and internet services “in areas with security concerns,” which the PTI said affected its social media calls for demonstrations.
On Thursday, a court banned rallies in the capital, and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi declared that anyone found breaching the ban would be arrested.
Authorities say only courts can order the release of Khan, who was voted out of power by parliament in 2022 after falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military.
He faces charges ranging from corruption to instigation of violence and has been imprisoned since his first conviction in a graft case, in August 2023.
“Graft” in Pakistan is a charge relating to a politician using his position for personal gain, akin to corruption charges in other jurisdictions.
Khan has been sentenced in several cases.
His convictions were later overturned on appeal but he cannot be freed due to other pending cases against him.
He and his party have denied all charges.
