Dead but not counted: Hidden victims of Pakistan’s latest conflict | Imran Khan

Islamabad, Pakistan Anees Shehzad’s death certificate states that she died of a hip injury and a gunshot wound.

He was killed while protesting alongside thousands of supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the capital Islamabad on November 26, following clashes with security forces. Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), insists he was among the dozen killed in police firing that day.

However, according to the government, no protester was killed, not even Shehzad, 20.

A week after PTI members laid siege to Islamabad and were later dispersed in a work at night and the law enforcement agencies, the government and the PTI are in a difficult conflict because of the number of people injured in these conflicts.

While some PTI leaders initially claimed that hundreds of supporters had been killed, party chairman Gohar Ali Khan later said the number of protesters who died stood at 12.

Attaullah Tarar, the federal information minister, ridiculed the disagreement in a message on social media X on Tuesday. “These bodies have been found on TikTok, Facebook and WhatsApp. They are playing politics of jokes and lies with the world,” wrote Tarar in his message in Urdu.

In the beginning, at November 28while talking to journalists and foreign journalists, Tarar confirmed that there were no deaths during the protests.

He also cited the fact that Islamabad’s two largest hospitals – PIMS and Poly Clinic – have reportedly not received bodies. “The Department of Health has issued two separate statements to confirm this,” he said in response to a question from Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera spoke to the families of four PTI supporters, including Shehzad, who were killed in clashes with security forces, and contacted Tarar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Rana Sanaullah, political adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, for their comments. on claims and objections. However, no one answered.

The PTI has now released the names of 12 people who were allegedly killed between November 24 and 26, of which at least 10 had bullet wounds. Among them was Shehzad, from Kotli Sattian, a small town in Punjab province.

‘I’m still scared’

Shehzad’s cousin, Nafees Satti, explained that the boy was a PTI volunteer who insisted on joining the rally. “We all tried to stop him, but he insisted because Imran Khan, his political idol, invited him,” Satti told Al Jazeera.

The protests, led by Bushra Bibi, Khan’s wife, demand that the results of the February election be reversed, the release of political prisoners, including Khan, and the repeal of the constitutional amendment allowing the government to control key judicial positions.

On the evening of November 26, hundreds of PTI supporters managed to reach D-Chowk, where demonstrations were held near government buildings in Islamabad, where they set fire to police kiosks, chanted slogans in favor of Khan and waved flags. Shehzad was one of them.

The protesters were soon confronted by the military who used tear gas and rubber bullets. They are also said to have fired live bullets, although the government denies it.

Shehzad’s family received a call from the Poly Clinic around 4pm, informing them that he was seriously injured. By the time they arrived, Anees had died from his injuries.

“It’s been a week, but his mother and his youngest brother would have been scared,” Satti said. “His brother faints from time to time. Our whole family is very sad.”

‘The phone ended suddenly’

The tragedy continues for the Anees family. Another PTI supporter, Mobeen Aurangzeb, 24, from Abbottabad, is the sole breadwinner of a family of nine children and has been living in Islamabad for several years.

His brother, Asad, said Mobeen, an active PTI member, had planned to participate in the protests, but the family did not realize the extent of the danger.

“He was talking to my sister on the phone when the call suddenly ended. “When he called again, an unknown person answered and told him that Mobeen had been shot and was going to the hospital,” said Asad.

Asad and other family members struggled to reach the Poly Clinic, where Mobeen was taken. Roads were closed to prevent more waves of protesters from reaching the heart of Islamabad, and those who arrived at the hospital said the authorities were incoherent.

“The people at the hospital initially refused to take out the body. After hours of pleading, he gave in at midnight,” Asad said.

The family is still trying to cope with their loss. “He was the first child after three sisters and the favorite of our parents. You can’t imagine their situation,” said 22-year-old Asad, adding that the responsibility of taking care of the family is now on him.

Some family members who spoke to Al Jazeera also told stories of how difficult it was to get the bodies of their loved ones to the medical authorities, as they said they were forced to sign affidavits not to file first-instance reports (FIRs) and pursue charges against the security forces.

‘He kept pushing me’

Like the Mobeen family, Abdul Wali from Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, struggled to collect the body of his brother, Malik Sadar Ali, who died on the evening of November 26.

Sadar Ali, an active PTI member who often traveled from Dubai to party, died of a “gunshot wound” to his head, according to a death certificate from PIMS hospital, seen by Al Jazeera.

Wali said the police tried to force him to sign a promise not to file an FIR about his brother’s murder.

He kept pressuring me, but how could I promise if my brother was killed?” he said. It was only after persistent pleading that the family be allowed to take Ali’s body and bury it. They had been waiting for more than 12 hours at that time.

The list of PTI victims also includes Mohammad Ilyas, who was killed in an alleged security attack on November 25 night.

Ilyas’ body was taken to PIMS early on November 26, according to his death certificate issued by the hospital and seen by Al Jazeera.

His older brother, Safeer Ali, who spent nearly four weeks in jail after leading PTI protests in October, said he and Ilyas joined other party workers as they gathered at the entrance to Islamabad to welcome a group of supporters who had come from there. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on November 25 night.

Ali described the chaos that took place that night when security vehicles drove through the crowd of protesters. “They beat several people, including my brother,” he said.

He said that the medical authorities delayed the release of Ilyas’ body and tried to force him to settle the case. He said: “I refused to say this, so they made me wait for 12 hours before handing over the body.”

But he said, despite losing his brother or being in jail alone, his support for PTI and its leader Khan remained undiminished.

“Look, my father died in the communal violence in Karachi in 1987. Now my brother was killed when his wife was six months pregnant,” said Ali. “But these setbacks will not change my support for PTI or Khan. We are ideological supporters, and we will give our lives for Khan.”