Thousands of supporters of Imran Khan reached the heavily fortified square in the centre of capital Islamabad defying government lockdown and ultimatums to demand the release of the jailed former prime minister.
At least six people, including a police officer and members of security forces, have died during the protest march on parliament that began on Sunday for a sit-in demonstration to demand the release of Mr Khan.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of Mr Khan, who has been in jail since last year, said two of its supporters have been killed and dozens injured in clashes with the police.
The government imposed a strict lockdown of the capital for the last three days to block protesters from reaching the capital. All major highways and roads were blocked with shipping containers, concrete barricades and security personnel. Mobile data was suspended in some areas.
The convoy of protesters on Tuesday clashed with security forces and breached the tall walls of the containers positioned at several points to block them from reaching the D-Chowk, an intersection in the heart of the capital called the “red zone”.
The highly sensitive area houses government buildings, the Supreme Court, parliament and embassies.
Security forces, which overtook the city to maintain law and order on the orders of the government, fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the marchers in an attempt to disperse them.
After the convoys entered D-Chowk, the interior ministry said the army had been deployed to protect diplomatic missions in the fortified zone area where many government buildings and embassies are located.
It added that a curfew could be imposed with paramilitary troops called in to block the marchers.
Mr Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi, who has been leading the march along with his key aide Ali Amin Gandapur, made her way towards the D-Chowk in a heavily guarded convoy which included a large truck crammed with supporters. Mr Khan has called the march the “final call”.
It followed the Shehbaz Sharif government’s outrage over the deaths of law enforcement personnel after the troops were run over by vehicles on Monday. The government has blamed the marchers for running over the troops on a street known as Srinagar Highway in Islamabad.
Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif denounced the fatal attacks on Tuesday, saying an “anarchist group” was deliberately targeting law enforcement personnel, blaming the supporters of Mr Khan’s party.
“It is not a peaceful protest. It is extremism,” Mr Sharif said in a statement, condemning the bloodshed as being aimed at achieving “evil political designs”.
The PTI denied that protesters were involved and said many of them instead helped the Rangers.
It added that “paramilitary rangers shot live ammunition” at its protesters in Islamabad, leading to the death of two people and injuries to four others.
“Participants claim they saw at least six people being shot, two of whom died on the spot and four were taken to hospital,” the party said on X.
The Associated Press said dozens of supporters of Mr Khan beat their videographer covering the protest and took his camera. He sustained head injuries and was being treated in a hospital.
Pictures from the scene showed a wall of shipping containers erected to block the protesters from entering the capital. Columns of security personnel in riot gear stood guard alongside main roads inside the capital, bracing for a large turnout.
Videos also showed convoys of buses, cars and trucks carrying Mr Khan’s supporters, who chanted slogans and played music, passing through the blockades with containers lying strewn on the ground.
In a press conference after midnight, interior minister Mohsin Naqvi threatened protesters that police would respond with live fire if protesters fired weapons at them after he announced the death of a law enforcement member.
"If they again fire bullets, the bullet will be responded with a bullet," he said.
The Ministry of Interior announced the deployment of the Pakistani Army in Islamabad, involving Article 245 of the constitution, which authorises the use of forces in the situation of internal security issues, riots, or natural disasters, reported Geo TV.
Usman Anwar, chief of police in Punjab province, said at least 119 others were injured, and 22 police vehicles were torched in clashes just outside Islamabad and elsewhere in the Punjab province.
Two officers were in critical condition, he said.
Mr Khan has been imprisoned for over a year, facing more than 150 criminal cases. Despite this, he remains widely popular, with his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, claiming the charges are politically driven.
Authorities say only courts can order the release of Mr Khan, who was ousted in 2022 through a no-confidence vote in parliament. He has been imprisoned since his first conviction in a graft case, in August 2023, and has been sentenced in several cases.
Police have arrested more than 4,000 of Mr Khan’s supporters, including activists, since Friday.
Separately, police registered a case against Mr Khan, his wife, and hundreds of senior PTI leaders over violent protests on charges including the anti-terrorism law.
