Pakistan Army Told to ‘Shoot on Sight’ as Protests Turn Deadly

(Bloomberg) -- Pakistan’s army has been ordered to “shoot on sight” after clashes with demonstrators killed four soldiers and at least one protester, according to reports. 

The violence erupted when protesters demanding the release of Pakistan’s jailed former premier Imran Khan entered the capital Islamabad late Monday, defying efforts by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government to stifle the nationwide demonstrations.  

Television networks reported that four paratroopers had been “martyred” and that the army, under Article 245, had been deployed and authorized to “shoot on sight.” 

Zulfi Bukhari, a spokesman for Khan’s political movement, said one of the marchers was killed and 20 others were wounded as the authorities confronted the protesters.

The authorities did not immediately comment on Bukhari’s statement, but earlier Monday they blamed the turmoil on Khan’s supporters, pointing out that a police officer had been killed and more than 119 hurt.

The largest convoy, led by the former prime minister’s allies from the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, had removed roadblocks along the highway to Islamabad after authorities tried to disperse them with tear gas, according to Pakistani government officials.

Authorities earlier said hundreds of Khan’s followers in multiple cities had been arrested in the protests and skirmishes. Those injuries included gunshot wounds, according to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

The marches began Sunday at Khan’s encouragement. He remains in custody despite courts granting him bail or suspending sentences in some of the cases against him. 

Khan, a former cricket star, has been in jail for more than a year. He faces more than 150 cases related to his time as premier, from corruption to inciting violence and misuse of power.

All educational facilities were closed in Islamabad for security reasons, according to a notice from the local administration. The government has also suspended mobile phone services in some areas and banned gatherings of more than five people in the capital. 

Naqvi, the interior minister, told reporters Monday, after attending the funeral for the policeman, that dozens of officers were injured in Islamabad, two of them in critical condition, and that protesters set vehicles on fire. 

He signaled in a later briefing that he intended to hold Khan directly accountable, saying “those who gave the call for the protest and seconded it are responsible for policemen casualties.” Naqvi also said authorities would arrest protesters who try to near the capital’s so-called Red Zone, where top government offices and Parliament are located, as well as the president and prime minister’s residences and embassies. 

Usman Anwar, chief of police in Punjab province, told reporters that 119 policemen were injured in several incidents in the region, which is just to the south of capital. 

The fresh protests are a challenge for Sharif’s government, which has tried to focus on restructuring and reforming the country’s weak economy under a loan and reform program managed by the International Monetary Fund. 

The government estimates that the unrest causing is costing the economy about 144 billion rupees ($518 million) daily, according to finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

In addition to his release, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party wants Sharif’s government to reverse a new law that it says gives the government the power to interfere in judicial affairs. 

(Updates with television reports of violence.)

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