Pakistan police crackdown clears Khan protesters from Islamabad

Pakistan’s security forces have driven supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan from the capital, Islamabad, following a sweeping crackdown overnight.

Authorities reopened roads linking the city with the rest of the country, ending a four-day lockdown, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Wednesday, confirming that the capital had been cleared.

Security personnel arrested hundreds of protesters during the operation and cleared the centre of the city of thousands who had gathered to demand the release of the politician, who alleges the charges are politically motivated.

On Wednesday morning, city workers were cleaning up debris and clearing the shipping containers that had been used by authorities to block roads leading into the capital to halt the protesters’ march.

The march on the capital was called by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. It had planned to stage a sit-in to press for the release of Khan, who has been jailed since August 2023 in connection with more than 150 cases. The cricketer-turned-politician claims the cases were intended to prevent his comeback in contested elections this year.