Night raid breaks up massive protest in Pakistan's capital
Security forces dispersed thousands of protesters in Islamabad during midnight operation. Protest leaders demanding ex-PM Khanʼs freedom returned to their province as stock market bounced back
A late-nite security operation in Islamabad forced Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party to halt its street demonstrations (which started after their leader was put in jail about one and half years ago)
The protest got really big when Bushra Bibi‚ wife of former prime-minister Imran Khan led thousands through security barriers; however things turned bad-real-quick. During the whole thing six people lost their lives including:
- 4 para-military troops
- 2 protest participants
Security forces turned-off all lights in central Islamabad and used tear-gas to break-up the crowd - hundreds got arrested in this pitch-dark operation. Next morning city workers cleaned-up the mess: removing road blocks and burnt vehicles including Bushra Bibiʼs charred truck
Mohammad Asim‚ the partyʼs Peshawar chief said: “We will think about what to do next“; meanwhile Bushra Bibi and Ali Amin Gandapur made it back safe to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The stock market jumped 3% after dropping same amount day before - showing signs that business dont like street protests
