Pakistan security forces launched a night-time operation to disperse thousands of supporters of the country's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan after the crowd broke through barricades and gathered in the capital Islamabad demanding his release.
The government had set off a security lockdown in the country and initiated internet blackouts. They had cut off the major roads approaching the capital to prevent the protesters from accessing it since their leader, Khan, had asked the protesters to march to parliament.
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in interviews said protesters can stay camped outside of Islamabad, but threatened extreme measures in case they try to reach the city.
Defying the warnings, protesters marched to the edge of the city's high-security red zone and clashed with security forces amid volleys of tear gas and reports of mass arrests. Several people reportedly died in the unrest, mostly from the security services.
The latest wave of protests comes as the Pakistani government has enhanced security around Islamabad for Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko's official visit. Lukashenko arrived on Monday in the capital on three days of talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
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.
The protesters planned a sit-in at D-Chowk, a large square near the country's parliament, and were led by Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi, and Ali Amin Gandapur, chief minister in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – where Khan's party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, remains in power.
On Monday, protesters walked to Islamabad's outskirts as they defied a two-day security lockdown and a rally ban. As they journeyed, police fired tear gas to try to dispel the crowds, and shipping containers blocked roads to hinder them from trying to march through.
Video footage revealed that a police post was on fire and multiple fires were burning on the highway. Reuters reported that 22 police vehicles were torched just outside of Islamabad and elsewhere in Punjab province.
At least six people, including four security officials, have been killed in the protests on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
Earlier Tuesday, medical doctors at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences told CNN that five people had died; among them were four security officials and one civilian. According to multiple sources, a car rammed into them in the course of the protest.
Protesting had reached the city limit by Tuesday morning and was heading toward D-Chowk. Soldiers were deployed outside significant buildings of the government including the parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Secretariat.
At midnight, security forces began the crackdown with a raid to evacuate the protesting people, and hundreds were detained in the process, reported AP.
In his message posted on X, Khan encouraged his followers to "fight till the end".
Will the protests continue?
Interior Minister Naqvi 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 would be no protesters there after five minutes, " Naqvi said. Anyone who reaches here will be arrested."
The PTI has accused the government of using excessive force, saying "bullets were fired at protesters," whom it described as "peaceful." It said about two dozen protesters had been injured.
CNN cannot independently verify the reports from either side and internet blackouts have compounded communication issues.
Thousands of Khan supporters have been arrested in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces in the past few days as authorities attempted to prevent the protest march.
Schools in Islamabad and the 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 the repeal of a new constitutional amendment which has increased the government's power to select superior court justices and pick those judges to hear political cases.
The February elections were neither free nor fair, his supporters claimed, and described it as a "stolen mandate."
Khan was removed through a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022 and since then has been at the helm of a popular movement against the government headed by Prime Minister Sharif, whom he accuses of conspiracy with the military to dislodge him from office.
Former cricketing star and populist politician who spent over a year in prison and stands accused of dozens of criminal charges, from corruption to the leaking of state secrets - all of which he and his party deny.
Khan and his PTI, the largest opposition party in the country, continue to enjoy a high rating, and the detention has catalyzed the already tension-filled face-off between the military and his supporters.
Khan has constantly called his supporters to hit the roads demanding his release, and violence has erupted in various cities.
An early October rally from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province protesting for Khan's release faced similar road blockades, and mobile and internet cuts, and ended in a clash with police.
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