A caravan of buses and vans filled with anti-government protestors arrived Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, in late October 2019.
Protesters, many of whom began their journey in Pakistan’s economic capital, Karachi, cited numerous reasons for taking to the streets. Some called for the resignation of Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Imran Khan, claiming that Khan and his “illegitimate” government came to power only through the support of the army.
Other protesters cited Pakistan’s economic crisis as their primary motivator. Khan’s government recently accepted a $6 billion bailout with the IMF, which was conditioned on tough austerity measures. The government has responded that Pakistan’s financial woes are actually due to corruption and mismanagement by previous governments.
Still others stated that they were protesting to express support and solidarity for Kashmiri residents. They allege that Kashmiris have been suffering at the hands of India’s military after India’s parliament voted in August to revoke Kashmir’s autonomy and separate citizenship law, a change that took effect on October 31, 2019.
To contain the protestors, the government has restricted them to one part of the city and has deployed additional riot police.
