Dozens of protesters shot dead, Imran Khan supporters say

Pakistan's army and police have been accused of firing on civilians, resulting in deaths and injuries to hundreds of protesters who stormed Islamabad to demand the release of Imran Khan.

- Shah Meer Baloch, Hannah Ellis-Petersen

As tens of thousands of the former prime minister's supporters stormed the capital on Tuesday in defiance of government orders, the army and paramilitary forces were deployed in huge numbers and issued with shoot-to-kill orders to try to stop the crowds reaching the heart of Islamabad's sensitive Red Zone, which houses the parliament, supreme court and prime minister's residence.

The centre of the city, known as D-Chowk, was the scene of violent clashes as protesters who had travelled from across the country came up against security forces. Protesters set shipping containers ablaze while riot police and army officers fired teargas and rubber bullets and were also accused of using live ammunition.

By the evening a power blackout had been imposed on the area, shutting down all the lights, and a major crackdown began. Army and paramilitary officers eventually succeeded in pushing Khan's supporters out of the capital. Khan's wife, Bushra Bibi, who recently emerged as a political figurehead of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) and had led the protest convoy into Islamabad, also fled the scene.

Yesterday, Islamabad remained clear of all protesters and PTI said it was suspending the protest "in view of the government's brutality and the government's plan to turn the capital into a slaughterhouse".