Four security force members killed as Imran Khan's supporters flood Pakistan's capital

Pakistani protesters demanding the release of ex-prime minister Imran Khan on Nov 26 killed four members of the nation's security forces, the government said, as the crowds defied police and closed in on the capital's centre.

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Convoys of pro-Khan demonstrators have been marching on Islamabad since Nov 24, hauling aside roadblocks and skirmishing with police and paramilitary forces firing volleys of rubber bullets and tear gas.

Despite a ban on public gatherings, AFP journalists saw more than 10,000 protesters in the city centre on Nov 26 afternoon. Some were armed with sticks and slingshots, just 1.6km away from a square in the government enclave they aim to occupy.

Khan was barred from standing in February elections that were marred by allegations of rigging, sidelined by dozens of legal cases that he claims were confected to prevent his comeback.

But his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has defied a government crackdown with regular rallies.

The protest on Nov 26 is the largest in the capital since Khan was jailed in August 2023.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said "miscreants" involved in the march had killed four members of the paramilitary Rangers force on a city highway leading towards the government sector.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the men had been "run over by a vehicle".