Pakistan deputy PM rejects accusations Imran Khan supporters were shot dead in protests

Supporters of the former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), attend a symbolic prayer for the people the party claims were killed during a protest in Islamabad this week, in Peshawar on November 29, 2024. (REUTERS)
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Updated 01 December 2024
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Pakistan deputy PM rejects accusations Imran Khan supporters were shot dead in protests

  • Khan’s party shares death certificates allegedly of three supporters which says they were killed by gunshots
  • Ishaq Dar urges PTI to provide “graves” and “dead bodies” to prove claims, accuses protesters of being violent

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar this week denied allegations the government had shot dead Imran Khan’s supporters in recent protests, as the former premier’s party alleged three of them were shot dead by law enforcers.
The PTI says at least 20 of its supporters were killed in this week’s clashes with law enforcers as thousands of Khan supporters marched toward Pakistan’s federal capital demanding Khan’s release from prison. The government rejects this and says four paramilitary personnel and a cop were killed by protesters.
On Saturday, the party shared the death certificates of three of its alleged supporters, Sardar Ali, Anees Shahzad Satii and Malik Mubeen, which said they were killed by gunshots. The certificates were prepared by the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and Federal Government Services Hospital in Islamabad. 
“Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday strongly refuted allegations of state brutality and indiscriminate firing by law enforcement authorities during recent clashes with protesters,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
Dar described claims that Khan supporters suffered gunshot wounds and were subjected to unwarranted violence as “malicious” and “absolutely false,” urging them to provide evidence such as “graves and dead bodies” to substantiate the accusations.
The deputy premier said protesters came to the capital armed with heavy ammunition and tear gas canisters.
“The mob was determined to create chaos and ready to kill,” he was quoted as saying by the APP. “Our security and law enforcement agencies exercised maximum restraint with patience despite deaths within their ranks.”
The protest was called off after security forces raided the D-Chowk protest site in complete darkness soon after midnight on Wednesday, firing rubber bullets and tear gas, according to police and government officials who deny using live ammunition during the operation.
Rawalpindi police said this week that over 170 cops were injured in the protests and that police have arrested over 1,150 for clashing with law enforcers.


Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz among nominees for ICC’s Player of the Month award

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Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz among nominees for ICC’s Player of the Month award

  • Nawaz scored 104 runs in ODIs and took four wickets and made 52 runs in T20Is and took 11 wickets
  • South Africa’s Simon Harmer and Bangladesh’s Taijul Islam are other two nominees for the award

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Mohammad Nawaz is among three of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) nominees for the Player of the Month for November award for his impressive white-ball performances last month, the global cricket body announced on Friday. 

Nawaz has been in sublime form for Pakistan, instrumental in the Green Shirts’ tri-series win over Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe at home last month. 

He amassed 104 ODI runs at an average of 52 with a strike rate of 114.28, while also taking four wickets. In T20Is, the left-arm spinner added 52 runs and claimed an impressive 11 wickets at just 12.72 last month. 

“His match-winning 3-17 in the final against Sri Lanka capped a standout campaign and secured his Player of the Series honor,” the ICC said. 

South Africa’s Simon Harmer and Bangladesh’s Taijul Islam were the other nominees for the award. Harmer claimed a staggering 17 wickets at an average of 8.94 across the two tests against India in Kolkata and Guwahati.

Meanwhile, Islam picked up 13 wickets at 26.30 in the 2-0 series win over Ireland last month, finishing as the leading wicket-taker of the series.