Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi face ‘terrorism’ charges after Islamabad protests 

Islamabad, Pakistan – The Pakistani government has filed a series of charges, including one related to “terrorism”, against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, his wife, Bushra Bibi, and hundreds of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party workers after protests held in Islamabad this week.

Khan, Bibi and others have been accused of “terrorism”, violations of a law that restricts protests in the capital, attacks on police, abduction, interference in government affairs and defiance of Section 144, which prohibits gatherings of more than four people.

Authorities have already arrested nearly 1,000 workers from Khan’s PTI party who travelled to Islamabad on Sunday to participate in the sit-in in response to their leader’s “final call” to protest against the government.

Khan, the PTI’s founder, has been imprisoned since August 2023 and is facing dozens of criminal cases. Bibi was also jailed for nine months this year before being released in October.

The protesters, who managed to reach central Islamabad despite roadblocks set up across the country by the government, called for Khan’s release among other demands. Bibi led the protest alongside Ali Amin Gandapur, the PTI chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

When protesters reached the planned site of the sit-in on Tuesday afternoon, paramilitary forces reportedly opened fire to disperse the crowd.

Later that evening, law enforcement launched a two-hour operation that cleared the area. Both Bibi and Gandapur left for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that same night.

On Wednesday morning, the PTI issued a statement announcing the suspension of the sit-in for the “time being” and said at least eight of its supporters had been killed by authorities.

On Thursday, however, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar along with Planning Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal categorically rejected the assertion that law enforcement personnel used any live munitions or that any PTI worker had died.

Tarar, speaking at a news conference held in Islamabad for foreign media, said hospital authorities confirmed that they did not receive any bodies.

“The health department has issued two statements, one from Poly Clinic and another from PIMS Hospital, stating there have been no dead bodies,” Tarar said, answering a query from Al Jazeera and referring to two of the largest public hospitals in Islamabad.

The casualty count remains in dispute with PTI leaders issuing contradictory statements, alleging deaths ranging from 10 to 200.

Hospital authorities have refused to share details of the injured and dead, telling Al Jazeera that they were “forbidden” from sharing information, a charge that the government denied. The government added that fake lists were circulating online.

“There was a fake list published on social media about the injured and dead, but it is incorrect. PTI is just trying to do politics on the dead and looking for bodies here and there,” Tarar told the media on Thursday.

The controversy deepened when journalist Matiullah Jan, a vocal critic of Pakistan’s military, was arrested.

Jan had reportedly been investigating the alleged deaths during the protest for his YouTube channel. An initial police report against him accuses him of drug trafficking, “terrorism” and assaulting police officers.

The government, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN), came to power in February after the PTI refused to form a government despite its candidates winning the most National Assembly seats (93). The party alleged electoral rigging by the military to undermine its mandate.

The PMLN subsequently formed a coalition government but has faced fierce resistance from the PTI, which has staged four major protests in as many months, demanding Khan’s release and challenging the credibility of the election results.