The Pakistan government has warned they will respond to bullets with bullets as more violence was anticipated during a planned march by supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, breaching the lockdown in capital Islamabad.
The death toll from the intensifying violence has increased to six, including a police officer, during the protest march on parliament for a sit-in demonstration to demand the release of Mr Khan. The government has sealed the capital with barricades and tankers.
At least four security services members and a civilian were killed when a vehicle rammed into them on a street known as Srinagar Highway in Islamabad. Some people allegedly drove a vehicle into a crowd of civilians and rangers.
Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced the fatal attacks on Tuesday, saying an “anarchist group” was deliberately targeting law enforcement personnel.
Pakistan cannot “afford any form of chaos or bloodshed”, he said, adding that it was for nefarious political agenda which is “unacceptable and highly condemnable”.
The government has imposed a strict lockdown of the capital for the last three days to block the protesters from reaching the capital with all major highways and roads blocked by shipping containers, concrete barricades and security personnel with mobile data suspended in some areas.
However, on Tuesday, supporters of Mr Khan broke through the ring of defence and clashed with police which fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Mr Khan’s third wife, Bushra Bibi, and a key aide, Ali Amin Gandapur, who is the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, have been leading the latest demonstration that arrived almost inside Islamabad on Monday night.
In a press conference after midnight, interior minister Mohsin Naqvi threatened protesters that police would respond with live fire if protesters fired weapons at them after he announced the death of a law enforcement member.
“If they again fire bullets, the bullet will be responded with a bullet,” he said.
The Ministry of Interior announced the deployment of the Pakistani Army in Islamabad, involving Article 245 of the constitution, which authorises the use of forces in the situation of internal security issues, riots, or natural disasters, reported Geo TV.
Usman Anwar, chief of police in Punjab province, said at least 119 others were injured, and 22 police vehicles were torched in clashes just outside Islamabad and elsewhere in the Punjab province.
Two officers were in critical condition, he said.
Mr Khan has been imprisoned for over a year, facing more than 150 criminal cases. Despite this, he remains widely popular, with his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, claiming the charges are politically driven.
Authorities say only courts can order the release of Mr Khan, who was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in parliament. He has been imprisoned since his first conviction in a graft case, in August 2023, and has been sentenced in several cases.
The Associated Press said dozens of supporters of Mr Khan beat their videographer covering the protest and took his camera. He sustained head injuries and was being treated in a hospital.
Police have arrested more than 4,000 Khan supporters, including activists, since Friday.
Separately, police registered a case against Mr Khan, his wife, and hundreds of senior PTI leaders over violent protests on charges including the anti-terrorism law.
