1,500 detained in Pakistan security crackdown
ISLAMABAD — Pakistani police began a nationwide security crackdown, arresting at least 1,500 supporters of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan ahead of an opposition rally planned this week in Islamabad, officials said Monday.
The arrests followed clashes over the weekend between Khan’s supporters and riot police in the capital that saw police using tear gas and batons to fight stone-throwing protesters.
The violence erupted again Monday when police fired tear gas at nearly 3,000 supporters on a main highway some 50 miles northwest of Islamabad.
Amnesty International expressed concern over the situation demanding that Pakistani authorities release opposition activists and allow demonstrators to exercise their right to peaceful assembly.