Pakistani Rangers guard the area, after security forces launched a raid on supporters of the former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in Islamabad, Pakistan, on November 27, 2024
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Pakistani authorities have booked 150 suspects and arrested 22 of them, mostly belonging to Imran Khan’s party, for allegedly propagating against the Army on social media on the killings of the party workers in Islamabad on November 26, an official said on Wednesday (December 11, 2024).

According to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), at least 12 party workers were killed and hundreds wounded when law enforcers opened fire on the protesters in Islamabad on November 26. It also claims that around 105 party workers have been missing since then.

Following the incident, Khan’s supporters started blaming the Pakistan Army for opening fire on the peaceful protesters.

The Shehbaz Sharif-led government denied that the law enforcers opened fire on the protesters and pledged to take strict action against those propagating on social media.

The government formed a special task force headed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) chief to NAB such elements.

“Subsequently, the FIA cybercrime wing booked some 150 suspects and arrested 22 social media activists across the country,” an FIA officer said.

He said that the FIA made 117 raids, mostly in Punjab, to arrest the suspects involved in the propaganda against the state institutions.

The suspects (social media activists) have been booked under different sections of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA).

Earlier, Amnesty International had demanded a transparent investigation of the state’s “deadly crackdown” to disperse PTI supporters from Islamabad’s D-Chowk where they had gathered for the release of their incarcerated leader and former prime minister.

More than 10,000 protesters surged into Islamabad on Nov 26, defying a ban on public gatherings and a lockdown to skirmish with 20,000 security forces enlisted to turn them back. As Khan supporters inched towards the heavily barricaded D-Chowk, the police and security forces used intense teargas shelling to disperse the protesters.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had said the law enforcers had “bravely repulsed the protesters” without using firearms. Khan’s party harshly criticised the interior minister for his statements and blamed him for the alleged violence against its supporters, claiming multiple deaths.

Condemning the violence, Amnesty demanded a “prompt, thorough, impartial, effective and transparent investigation” into the deaths and injuries of protesters as well as the unlawful use of force, including lethal and less-lethal weapons, by security personnel.

Pakistan former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
| Photo Credit: AP

Pakistan’s jailed former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was on Sunday implicated by the police in eight more cases in connection with the unprecedented mayhem on May 9 in 2023 following the arrest of ex-premier Imran Khan in a case of alleged corruption, according to a media report on Monday.

The 67-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader is currently imprisoned in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail after his conviction in various cases.

On Sunday, a special police team approached the Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore seeking permission to arrest, interrogate and summon Qureshi in an FIR registered with the Sarwar Road police station, Geo News reported.

However, the court denied the permission citing “security reasons”. Instead, the court allowed the investigation officer to visit Adiala Jail for interrogation of the former Foreign Minister within three days.

“The accused shall be deemed to be on physical remand for that purpose,” read the court order.

Riots were triggered almost across the country on May 9 last year after Khan’s arrest in the 190 million pounds settlement case. Hundreds of PTI workers and senior leaders were arrested for their involvement in violence and attacks on key military installations.

A special court established under the Official Secrets Act had handed Qureshi 10 years in jail in the cipher (secret diplomatic communication) case along with the jailed former premier Khan.

During the May 9 protests, the miscreants targeted the civil and military installations including — Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.

Terming the May 9 violence as “Black Day”, the military decided to try the protesters under the Army Act.

Reacting to the police implicating Qureshi in more cases, a spokesperson of the PTI said that the court had already granted bail to the former ruling party’s vice-chairman in these cases.

“Law was flouted again to keep Qureshi behind bars by making the court’s order ineffective practically,” he said.

The spokesperson said that Qureshi was being punished for firmly sticking with the ideology of the PTI founder. Lawlessness was reaching new highs in the country, he added.