LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) -At least five people were killed when Pakistani police clashed with members of a hardline Islamist group at an anti-Israel protest on the country’s busiest highway, police said.
The far-right Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan, whose massive and often violent street protests have been a thorn in the side of multiple Pakistani governments, had called for the march ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement last week of a ceasefire deal to end the Gaza war.
The march from the eastern metropolis of Lahore to capital Islamabad, a nearly 400 km (248 miles) walk, along the historic Grand Trunk Road started on Friday and has led to several clashes with the police, who have tried to slow its movement.
On Monday, police said they had launched an operation to disperse hundreds of protesters in the town of Muridke when the group’s supporters opened fire on officers and set over 40 vehicles on fire in clashes that lasted for over three hours.
Those killed included a police officer, three protesters and a bystander, police said in a statement. Dozens on both sides were injured, it added.
Scores of protesters have also been arrested, police added. The entry and exit routes to the capital, blocked by authorities since the march started, were partially reopened on Monday.
Tehrik-e-Labaik said it was the police who opened fire on its supporters, killing and wounding several. Its leader, Saad Rizvi, was also injured, sustaining three bullet wounds, the group said.
A provincial government spokesperson did not respond to a request for a comment about the group’s claims.
Rizvi told a news conference on Sunday that his supporters only wanted to march up to Islamabad to express solidarity with the people of Palestine.
“Our march is against Israel’s atrocities,” he said, adding that the group had previously run campaigns to boycott Israeli products.
Hamas freed the last 20 surviving Israeli hostages on Monday under the ceasefire deal, which aims to end a war that began on October 7, 2023 after a Hamas attack that killed around 1,200 people with 251 taken hostage.
Israeli airstrikes, bombardments and armoured ground assaults have laid waste to Gaza, killing more than 67,000 Palestinians, the enclave’s health officials say, causing a humanitarian disaster.
(Writing by Asif Shahzad)
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