Islamabad, Nov 28 (EFE).- Amnesty International (AI) has called for an urgent and transparent investigation into the «deadly crackdown» on opposition protesters from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party during a recent protest to demand the release of imprisoned founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Police fire tear gas shells at supporters of opposition Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad, Pakistan, 26 November 2024. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, currently imprisoned, called on his supporters to participate in a ‘peaceful protest’ in Islamabad, on 24 November, emphasizing the need to oppose what he termed the ‘illegal’ nature of his imprisonment. EFE-EPA/SOHAIL SHAHZAD
In a statement issued late Wednesday, AI’s deputy regional director for South Asia, Babu Ram Pant, called for «a prompt, thorough, impartial, effective and transparent investigation into the deaths and injuries of protesters as well as the unlawful use of force including lethal and less-lethal weapons by security personnel» during the protests between Nov. 26 and 27 in the Pakistani capital.
Police fire tear gas shells at supporters of opposition Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad, Pakistan, 26 November 2024. EFE-EPA/SOHAIL SHAHZAD
«Authorities must also immediately release all protesters detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly,» he added.
The deputy regional director said that the «escalation of violence, shutdown of mobile internet services, mass detentions, and alarming rhetoric against PTI protesters by the authorities speaks of a pattern of intolerance for the right to freedom of peaceful assembly throughout the country.»
Pam Pant described as «disturbing» the testimonies of the unlawful use of force, including lethal ammunition, against protesters.
«Continued restrictions on reporting by media and independent observers have made it difficult to verify the number of casualties and raise urgent questions about accountability for human rights abuses (in Pakistan),» he said.
On Wednesday, PTI announced that it planned to continue with the protests, which had begun over the weekend and which the popular opposition leader and his supporters had described as a «final call» for his release.
PTI said that at least 12 of its members were killed in the operation conducted by security forces operation in Islamabad between Nov. 26 and 27.
Inspector General of Islamabad Police, Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said that more than 900 people were arrested in the operation that put an end, at least in the capital, to the wave of protests that began on Sunday and in which several members of paramilitary and security forces also died.
The PTI described the crackdown as a «massacre» and initially said that «hundreds» of its supporters had been killed.
Khan, prime minister of Pakistan between 2018 and 2022, has been in prison since August 2023, accused of dozens of charges which he claims are politically motivated. EFE
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