ISLAMABAD: Supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan blocked roads near the capital on Tuesday, disrupting traffic and forcing schools to close, as they protested against a bid to assassinate their leader at a recent anti-government rally to demand early elections.
The former cricket star was shot at the rally last Thursday. He is recovering from leg wounds.
“People are finding it very hard to go to work,” said police official Yawar Ali. “Families have been stuck in the traffic for hours. We’ve even got reports that the protesters have not let ambulances pass.”
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), however, rejected the claim as “baseless” and shared videos of crowds of protestors calmly parting to allow ambulances and those in need to go through.
اسلام آباد کے داخلی اور خارجی راستوں پر عمران خان پر قاتلانہ حملہ کرنے والے سازشیوں اور امپورٹڈ حکومت کے خلاف احتجاج جاری ہے
لیکن ایمبولینسز کے راستے میں رکاوٹ نہیں بنائی جا رہی اور راستہ دیا جاتا ہے- #رُکنانہیں_جھُکنانہیں pic.twitter.com/F8WygDnRAp
— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 8, 2022
Khan’s unpopular successor as prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has rejected his demand for new polls and the deadlock has stoked instability in the nuclear-armed country.
The supporters of Khan began their protests on major roads around Islamabad late on Monday. They have blocked the highway to Islamabad airport, and the ones linking the capital to the cities of Lahore and Peshawar.
In Protest at #MurreeRoad #Rawalpindi #Islamabad .
The demand is simple: resignation of all three accused of assassination attempt on Chairman Imran Khan & registration of an FIR including all three names. #رُکنانہیں_جھُکنانہیں#FIR_Rejected #غلاظت_سے_بھرے_لفافے #غازی_عمران_خان pic.twitter.com/fR4YXu3AAf— Mehreen Afridi PTI official (@mehreenAfridi_) November 8, 2022
Television footage showed Khan’s supporters burning tyres as they set up protest camps across roads.
The government ordered all state and private schools to shut for the day, according to an order seen by Reuters.
Khan launched the long-march protest rally from Lahore to the capital on October 28. He was waving to the crowd from a container mounted on a truck in Wazirabad last Thursday when a man fired several shots at him.
Khan was among 10 wounded people. One party worker was killed.
Police have arrested the suspected shooter.
Khan’s party announced late on Monday that the march would resume on Thursday at the place where Khan was attacked, and he would lead it virtually.
The political tension comes as Pakistan is grappling with economic turmoil exacerbated by recent flooding that the government estimates caused economic losses worth $30 billion.
