Business · News 61
Protests in northwestern Pakistan turned violent on Tuesday after police allegedly fired live rounds and tear gas at supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan . Pakistan’s president declared emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday, suspending the only provincial government led by Mr Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. On Tuesday, Mr Khan's supporters clashed with local police and set government buildings ablaze.
At least five protesters suffered bullet injuries when police fired upon the crowd, which had overwhelmed law enforcement, Dawn reported. Samar Haroon Bilour, an official for the new provincial administration under the governor, called the allegations that police had fired live rounds “baseless and frivolous” and spread by anonymous social media accounts using AI-generated footage. She claimed that police responded to rioting and vandalism in a calibrated way and arrested 50 people.
Security personnel inspect burnt vehicles at the National Database and Registration Authority office in Bara on the outskirts of Peshawar on 14 October 2026 (AFP/Getty) Police initially used batons and tear gas to disperse the protesters assembled in Bara Bazaar in the provincial capital of Peshawar. When the crowd surged, police retreated and took shelter in nearby shops, according to local news reports, before firing tear gas and shooting in the air to disperse the crowd. PTI spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari shared videos on X that he linked to the violence in Bara Bazaar, calling the emergency a coup and warning the protests against it could spread.
The party’s information secretary, Ikram Khatana, said that unidentified people set fire to the National Database and Registration Authority office in Bara, around 15km from Peshawar, and stormed nearby government offices. A man removes burnt chairs from a street outside the National Database and Registration Authority office following clashes in Bara on the outskirts of Peshawar on 14 October 2026 (AFP/Getty) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been Mr Khan's stronghold for 13 years and has witnessed a recent surge of protests demanding the former prime minister’s release. It was the only province ruled by the PTI.
“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the only province left with a genuine democratic mandate,” Mr Bukhari said earlier. “Now, even that last shred of democracy has been stripped away." Mr Khan has been jailed since 2023. He has been accused of inciting riots targeting military sites as well as corruption.
His wife has been jailed as well, and his three sisters are currently in detention. He was removed from office in 2022 through a parliamentary no-confidence vote which he accused Pakistan’s powerful military of orchestrating at the behest of the US. Home minister Mohsin Naqvi on Monday justified the state of emergency by arguing that federal rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was necessary to combat “terrorism” in the province bordering Afghanistan .
“No war can be won, however many resources you bring, whatever you do, until the government there leads it,” Mr Naqvi told reporters. The PTI said it would legally challenge the federal government’s takeover of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Source: The Independent
