Pakistan boosts security ahead of SCO summit amid pro-Khan protests

Pakistan has deployed its army to ensure the security of the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Islamabad, set for October 15-16, the Interior Ministry confirmed.

The deployment comes at the request of local authorities in Islamabad, the federal government said on Friday.

"The government is pleased to authorise the deployment of requisite strength of Pakistan Army in aid of civil power from 5th to 17th October 2024 in ICT (Islamabad Capital Territory), for maintaining law and order with respect to the 23rd meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government and visits of VVIP delegations for the said meeting," read a statement from the Interior Ministry.

Official Pakistan Television reported that the military has already taken charge of security as of Friday night, with army convoys seen moving toward Islamabad from the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will also visit Pakistan to participate in the summit, the Indian Foreign Ministry said on Friday, but did not say if he would meet any Pakistani leaders on the sidelines.

The visit will be the first by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in nearly a decade and will take place at a time when ties between the two states have been strained over their dispute on Kashmir.

Pakistan's security measures come at a tense time, with ongoing clashes in the capital between police and supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

On Friday, police once again clashed with Khan supporters in the capital despite a ban on congregating in the capital.

"Release Imran! Release Imran!" dozens of protesters chanted, holding pictures of Khan and PTI flags, less than a kilometre from the city's red zone, which houses the country's parliament and a fortified enclave of foreign embassies.

Pro-Khan protests

Protesters are demanding Khan's release from prison, where he is being held in Rawalpindi.

Despite the courts having overturned two of his convictions and suspended a third, Khan remains in jail as he faces charges ranging from corruption to terrorism, all of which he denies.

The cricketer-turned-politician was ousted from office through a no-confidence vote in April 2022 following his visit to Russia right before the war in Ukraine started.

Shehbaz Sharif's government says Khan's party wants to weaken the country's economy by staging violent protests.

Pakistan, which recently received a $7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, has been struggling to overcome an economic crisis.