Roving Periscope: Four soldiers killed amid Imran supporters’ march on Islamabad

Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: Facing dismal economic prospects, terrorist attacks, and relentless sectarian violence, Pakistan on Tuesday stared at a possible civil war as its Army, carrying a shoot-at-sight order, patrolled Islamabad after the death of four members of the paramilitary force Pakistan Rangers when they tried to prevent the supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan from entering the sealed national capital.

The PTI’s march came soon after the death of nearly 100 people in sectarian violence last week between the majority Sunnis and the minority Shia in parts of Pakistan.

Thousands of supporters of Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) outfit clashed with police as they tried to barge into Islamabad, demanding his release. Policemen fired tear gas shells to disperse unruly PTI supporters, the media reported, adding a civilian and a policeman were also reported killed.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said that four security personnel were killed when they were rammed by a vehicle, as thousands defied a police lockdown overcoming blockades and tear gas to enter the heavily protected city. PTI’s supporters have been demanding the ex-PM’s release ahead of a court hearing on terrorism charges.

As protesters battled security forces and ignored a government threat to respond with gunfire, PM Sharif condemned the violence, saying, “It is not a peaceful protest. It is extremism.”

The march into Islamabad followed two days of clashes as protesters trooped towards the national capital, despite the city administration imposing a two-month ban on public gatherings last week. However, despite the Army’s attempts, hundreds of PTI protesters managed to slip into the city.

Former PM Imran Khan, who was ousted in March-April 2022 through a no-confidence vote, has been in jail since August 2023 following his conviction in a corruption case. At present, he is battling more than 150 criminal cases, which his PTI claims are politically motivated.

Police arrested more than 4,000 Khan supporters since Friday last week and suspended mobile and internet services in some parts of the Islamic country. All educational institutions remain closed.

On Thursday last week, a court prohibited rallies in the capital, and authorities said anyone violating the ban would be arrested. Travel between Islamabad and other cities became nearly impossible, with the authorities blocking roads with shipping containers. However, the protesters pushed them aside on Tuesday.

In this grim situation, the government called the Pakistan Army into Islamabad on Tuesday as the PTI convoys tried to enter the capital for the party’s planned power show. The government asked the armed forces “to shoot miscreants and troublemakers at sight,” state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi pledged that those involved in the attack on paramilitary men would be brought to justice.

According to the Associated Press of Pakistan, six fatalities have been confirmed, with more than 100 police officials injured, many of whom critically.

Radio Pakistan reported that “miscreants rammed a vehicle into Rangers personnel,” leading to the deaths of four officials during PTI’s protest on Srinagar Highway in Islamabad. Five other Rangers personnel, along with several police officials, also sustained severe injuries in the alleged attack.

“Under Article 245, the Pakistan Army has been called in, and orders have been issued to deal with the miscreants with an iron hand,”, it stated, adding that  “Clear orders have also been issued to shoot miscreants and troublemakers on sight.”

Citing security sources, the report noted that all necessary measures were being taken to “counter-terrorist activities of disruptive and extremist elements.”

In a separate incident, several “miscreants,” armed with weapons and ammunition, stoned the Rangers and opened an “indiscriminate” fire on the security personnel at Chungi No 26 in Rawalpindi, critically injuring at least one Ranger.

PM Shehbaz Sharif condemned the “attacks on police and Rangers, under the guise of a so-called peaceful protest.”

Police and Rangers were deployed to maintain law and order in Islamabad, he said, adding that an ‘anarchist group” was seeking “bloodshed.”