Expired tear gas kills two protesters in Pakistan: Opposition

Opposition members in Pakistan say police have killed two protesters and arrested many more during a massive anti-government sit-in in the capital, Islamabad.

“Two of our workers have been killed due to excessive use of expired tear-gas shells,” said Shah Mehmood Qureshi, a senior leader of opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), on local Geo TV on Tuesday.

Police fired tear gas and clashed with thousands of stick-wielding PTI party members traveling from northwest Pakistan toward Islamabad.

The clashes took place on the Peshawar-Islamabad motorway, more than 50 kilometers from the capital, as nearly 5,000 PTI supporters tried to remove the barricades set up by police to stop protesters from reaching the capital.

Security sources said on Monday that the number of those arrested overnight was between 1,500 and 1,800. PTI leaders are among those arrested.

Zaeem Qadri, a government spokesman, said police would keep those considered a threat in custody pending charges.

Thousands of PTI supporters have been trying to drive in convoys to Islamabad from the northwestern city of Peshawar over the past days.

PTI is the party of national hero cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan. He has vowed to stage continuous mass rallies across the country until the overthrow of the ruling government run by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Khan accuses Sharif and his family of corruption.

SS