Pakistan Chaos, Supporter Of Former PM Imran Khan Takes To Road Demanding Release

Imran Khan/PHOTO Voice of America via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - The action of hundreds of supporters demanding the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from prison to the outskirts of Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.

Authorities imposed a security lockdown over the past two days to block protesters, Khan asked to hold demonstrations in parliament. While highways to the city have been barred.

The government uses shipping containers to block main roads in Islamabad. Most were guarded by police and paramilitary personnel wearing antihuru-hara equipment.

Officials and witnesses said all public transport between the city and the terminal was also closed in the eastern province ofTEN, to prevent protesters commanded by members of the Pakistan party Tereek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by Khan.

"We will not let them storm the capital," said Provincial Information Minister Uzma Bukhari.

Several police officers were injured in clashes and riots in several places in the province.

The capital has added an extra layer of security ahead of the visit of Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko, who is scheduled to arrive on Monday.

The Khan Party accused the government of using violent tactics to deter protesters. The government is said to have arrested hundreds of workers and leaders.

They even fired live bullets, one of Khan's aides, Shaukat Yousafzai, told Geo News TV broadcaster.

No meeting in any form in Islamabad is prohibited, police said in a statement.

Authorities closed all schools in Islamabad and the neighboring state of Rawalpindi, while internet services and WhatsApp messages also slowed down.

The protest, which Khan described as "the last call", was one of many actions his party has taken to ask for his release since he was jailed in August last year.

The party's latest protest in Islamabad, in early October, turned violent.

Khan's third wife, Bushra Bibi, and her main aide, Ali Amin Gan Kotten, who is the head of the provincial minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, led a demonstration arriving outside Islamabad on Sunday night.

Khan faces accusations ranging from corruption to incitement to violence, all of which he and his party deny.

The military has a huge role in politics, and they are the ones who determine who will rule the country of 241 million people in South Asia.