UPDATE 2 - Pakistan ex-Premier Khan's party calls off protest amid security operation

ADDS LATEST INFORMATION, END TO PROTEST, CHANGES HEADLINE

By Islamuddin Sajid/Aamir Latif

ISLAMABAD (AA) – The party of Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan announced Wednesday that it is calling off its protest after security forces launched a massive operation to dislodge Khan’s supporters who had stormed the capital Islamabad to demand his release.

In a statement, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akran said they have decided to end the protest after the killing of several PTI supporters in the police crackdown.

"At the behest of the mandate-thief fascists, dozens of innocent (PTI) workers were shot dead by government machine guns, and so far, eight are confirmed dead," Akram said, adding the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Ali Amin Gandapur, and Khan's wife Bushra Bibi are safe.

However, so far, Polyclinic Hospital has confirmed that the bodies of two people and 26 injured were brought to the hospital.

Pakistani security forces launched a massive operation late Tuesday to dislodge supporters of Khan who had stormed the capital Islamabad to demand his release.

Footage aired on multiple local broadcasters showed hundreds of protesters running in panic as riot police and paramilitary troops chased them amid teargas shelling.

Hundreds of protesters were also seen leaving the capital, although it was not clear whether they would return to protest on Wednesday morning.

Police hurled teargas canisters and fired rubber bullets to regain control of several points, including “D-Chowk," a large square that was the gathering site for protesters, and at one stage they managed to reach there in their hundreds.

Police say they have arrested over 450 protesters in Islamabad.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqavi in a late-night news conference at the D-roundabout near parliament claimed that the fleeing protesters ransacked and set public and private properties on fire, including metro stations and vehicles.

"Tomorrow will be a new day. Hopefully, the situation will return to normal from tomorrow," he said, announcing that all educational institutions will reopen in the capital from Thursday.

Naqvi said that Bibi and Gandapur are "absconding."

The PTI, however, rejected the government's claim as "fake news," asserting that the party workers and leaders are very much in the capital.

Gandapur, in a late-night video message from an undisclosed location, accused the security forces of opening fire on the protesters, saying he is "here" and will announce a future strategy after consulting Khan.

Police said the operation will continue as hundreds of PTI workers are still hiding in Islamabad.