UPDATES WITH STATEMENT BY OPPOSITION PARTY, POLICE CHIEF, CHANGES HEADER, DECK, LEDE
By Islamuddin Sajid and Aamir Latif
ISLAMABAD / KARACHI (AA) - The party of Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday said it plans to “continue” with its protest after government in a midnight security operation dislodged the opposition encampment from capital Islamabad.
Defying a ban on all gatherings and breaking through the barriers that included shipping containers, thousands of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers and supporters had descended on the capital seeking Khan's release, according to video footages of the rally which began on Sunday.
The chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Ali Amin Gandapur, who led the protests in Islamabad, re-appeared on Wednesday in Mansehra district of PTI-governed northwestern region.
Earlier, PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram in a statement on X said the party has decided to end the protest "for the time being" after the "killing" of several PTI supporters.
He said many workers were shot at and "eight are confirmed dead."
Anadolu could not independently confirm the claims made by the opposition party.
The government, however, refuted claims that workers were fired upon and called it “propaganda.”
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said he visited the protest site at night, and neither bullet casing nor bodies could be seen anywhere.
- 954 arrested, 7 cases filed: Islamabad police chief
In the capital Islamabad, police chief Ali Nasir Rizvi said 954 people were arrested, including 610 on Tuesday, while 200 vehicles were taken into custody for attacking police, damaging public properties as well as violating laws.
“Seven cases have been registered against the protesting leaders (including) under anti-terrorism act,” said Ali.
The protesters are accused of "vandalism" as well as "destruction" of public and private property in the capital, according to authorities.
The number of dead and injured has yet to be confirmed by officials.
The government said an offer to rally on the outskirts of Islamabad was rejected by the PTI.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had said the fleeing protesters ransacked and set public and private properties on fire, including metro stations and vehicles.
Naqvi had claimed Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and Chief Minister Gandapur were “absconding.”
Bibi had accompanied Gandapur in the rally to Islamabad.
The PTI, however, rejected the government's claim as "fake news."
Khan has been in jail for more than a year and faces multiple cases. His party says the cases are politically motivated.