Arab News | Police clash with Imran Khan supporters in northwestern Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Police fired tear gas and live rounds at supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday as clashes erupted over the suspension of his party’s provincial government, party officials said, an account the provincial administration rejected.

The federal government imposed a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday and placed it under direct control, citing a surge in militant violence. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said that was a pretext for a political takeover.

Samar Haroon Bilour, who handles information for the provincial administration, said in a written response to Reuters that allegations of live firing by police were “baseless and frivolous” and were spread by anonymous social media accounts using AI-generated footage.

She said police had responded to rioting and vandalism in a calibrated way, and that about 50 people had been arrested and four cases registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Khan’s aide and PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari shared videos on X that he linked to the violence in Bara Bazaar, calling the emergency and governor’s rule a coup and warning it could spread.

Reuters could not independently verify the footage or the competing accounts of the shooting.

Five people were injured in the clashes that occurred in the province, party officials said, the most serious of them in Bara, about 15 km (9 miles) from the provincial capital Peshawar.

PTI information secretary Ikram Khatana said unidentified people set fire to the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) center in Bara and stormed nearby offices. Bilour said responsibility for the NADRA incident would be established through the investigation, including video footage and witness statements.

The sacking of PTI’s only provincial government is the latest blow against Khan, who has been in prison since 2023. He has been accused of inciting riots targeting military sites as well as corruption and other charges. His wife, three sisters and scores of activists are also under detention.

Khan denies the allegations and says they are politically motivated.