ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani police fired teargas, baton-charged and detained supporters of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday to stop them from reaching the capital Islamabad to demand fresh elections, officials and witnesses said.
Khan, ousted in a confidence vote last month after losing his partners in his coalition, has urged supporters to march on Islamabad and stay there until the new government is dissolved and a date for a fresh election is announced.
Islamabad’s entry and exit routes have been blocked, as well as all important sites, including parliament, government offices and diplomatic missions, officials said. Entry and exit points were also blocked to and from all major cities in Punjab province and on the Grand Trunk Road (GTR), they said.
“No blockade can stop us,” Khan said from atop a truck on the GT road on his way to Islamabad from the northwestern city of Peshawar.
“We will remain in Islamabad till announcement of dates for dissolution of assemblies & elections are given,” he later tweeted.
The government has said Khan’s march is illegal and accuses him of seeking to bring protesters to Islamabad with “evil intentions”.