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Tens of thousands of angry protesters, mostly youngsters, forced their entry into Pakistan's federal capital Islamabad. It is a massive crowd and unprecedented since April 2022 when the agitation campaign was launched against the ruling party and the military over their controversial role in unceremonious removal of the government of the then Prime Minister Imran Khan.
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The angry protesters are not willing to settle down on anything short of securing the release of their jail leader Imran Khan. Khan was arrested in August last year on what he says politically motivated frivolous charges ranging from corruption to terrorism.
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We will not go back from our leadership.

VIDEO: The Pakistani Military's Brutal Crackdown on pro-Imran Khan Protests

Protestors gathered in the capital city of Islamabad to demand the released of jailed former PM Imran Khan

Following a call from imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan to take to the streets in protest over the suppression of democracy in the country, thousands of supporters of his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, or PTI, have congregated in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad this week. The mass rally, which has drawn participants from across the country, comes despite warnings from the military-backed government that it will respond with force to any sign of dissent – a promise that it now appears to be keeping in grisly fashion.

On Tuesday night, reports emerged of live gunfire by Pakistani soldiers targeting protestors. While the numbers of dead and wounded are still being tabulated, harrowing images have already begun circulating on social media of bloodied corpses of PTI activists and protestors, along with countless injured individuals suffering gunshot wounds and other violence. Eyewitnesses from the scene have alleged that snipers opened fire on the crowd under cover of darkness, while clear footage has shown police and paramilitary troops brutalizing protestors throughout the day.

Just before the violence escalated, Pakistani journalist Javed Rana filed a video dispatch for Drop Site News, interviewing protestors and laying out the reasons for the demonstration. The dispatch shows a country on the precipice of major unrest, with popular anger over the rigging of elections and imprisonment of Khan reaching a boiling point, and no off-ramp in site.

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Greg Hausmann's avatar

I suspect this will soon be happening many places. Thank you, Javed Rana!

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1:07
SPEAKER 4
We will not go back from our leadership.