Hundreds of protesters were shot and thousands arrested during unrest that swept through Pakistan’s capital this week.  The protesters gathered to demand the release of Imran Khan. Ali Amin Gandapur, a key aide to former Prime Minister Imran Khan and the provincial chief minister, confirmed the violence that took place in Pakistan.

The protesters had previously breached barricades and entered the high-security Red Zone, leading to violent clashes with authorities that included the use of tear gas, gunfire, and widespread arrests. 

Earlier, police had stated that no lethal force was used during Tuesday night’s operation and reported the arrest of hundreds of protesters.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party’s protests, demanding the release of its leader Imran Khan, took a violent turn on Tuesday, resulting in the deaths of four security personnel and two PTI supporters, the Dawn reported.

Tensions in Islamabad have been building since Sunday, when supporters of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party launched a “long march” from the northwest to demand the leader’s release. On Tuesday, the PTI rally, led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, entered the capital, marking the beginning of a high-stakes protest for the release of PTI founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Khan, who has been imprisoned for over a year, faces more than 150 criminal charges, which PTI insists are politically motivated.

Since Friday, authorities have arrested over 4,000 PTI supporters and imposed mobile and internet service suspensions in parts of the country. Key communication platforms like WhatsApp, vital to PTI’s strategy, have been heavily disrupted, while access to X (formerly Twitter) has been blocked, even through VPNs.