November 2024 PTI protest
| November 2024 PTI protest | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of 2022–2024 Pakistan political unrest | |||
A man is pushed off a shipping container by security personnel during protests. The PTI claims he was praying, while the government claims he was filming a video for TikTok. | |||
| Date | November 24, 2024 to November 27, 2024 | ||
| Location | 33°43′46″N 73°05′27″E / 33.7294°N 73.0908°E | ||
| Casualties and losses | |||
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Per independent sources
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From 24–27 November 2024, PTI organized the Final Call protest, led by Bushra Bibi and Ali Amin Gandapur. During the protest, supporters of Imran Khan clashed with police in Islamabad as their march to the capital was obstructed. At least six people, including four security personnel, were killed when a vehicle rammed into them on 26 November. Meanwhile, several were injured during crowd containment via tear gas and rubber bullets, while some journalists were attacked by Khan's supporters. Late at night, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi warned that security forces would retaliate with live ammunition.
In response to the clashes, on 27 November, a violent crackdown by Pakistani security forces, led by Naqvi, resulted in casualties. The government denied using live rounds, asserting that the situation was under control after clearing the protest area. According to anonymous sources in local hospitals speaking to The Guardian, the families of the deceased speaking to Al Jazeera, government officials had confiscated records of dead and injured. The PTI described the incident as a "massacre," claiming that hundreds of its members were killed as police fired live ammunition during the final phase of the protest. Later, party sources stated that up to 20 of their workers had been killed, while the search for other victims was ongoing. Government ministers denied any fatalities among PTI protesters during the November 26 security forces raid in Islamabad, with interior minister Naqvi refuting these claims as "propaganda" and challenging the party to provide names of the deceased. Meanwhile, Islamabad's police chief reported five security personnel killed during the clashes and described significant damage caused by protesters. Al Jazeera confirmed the names of the deceased and contacted the family members of several of the killed PTI protesters.
Public hospitals in the federal capital asserted that no bodies were brought in following the operation. However, documentary evidence contradicts these claims. On November 30, Geo TV Fact Check contacted over a dozen doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators, many of whom either denied the deaths or declined to comment, citing pressure from government authorities. According to the fact check, three individuals with gunshot wounds were brought to hospitals. One was admitted to PIMS Hospital on November 26 at 8:17 PM and pronounced dead at 8:30 PM. Another was pronounced dead at the Federal Government Poly Clinic Hospital at 5:12 PM the same day, while the third was pronounced dead at 5:00 PM. The security forces' crackdown began in the early hours of 27 November 2024.
PTI shared a post on its official X account stating "In view of the government's brutality and the government's plan to turn the capital into a slaughterhouse for unarmed citizens, (we) announce the suspension of the peaceful protest for the time being."