Police and former prime minister's supporters clash in northwestern Pakistan, where state of emergency has been declared

(Jakarta = Yonhap News) Correspondent Hyun-gyu Son = Five people were injured and about 50 arrested in clashes between police and supporters of the former prime minister in the northwestern region of Pakistan, where the government recently declared a state of emergency.

According to Reuters on the 14th (local time), Pakistan's main opposition party, the Pakistan Justice Movement (PTI), announced that supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan (74) clashed with the police in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the previous day, and that five people were injured in the police crackdown by firing live ammunition and tear gas.

The previous day, some protesters reportedly set fire to the National Database and Registration Office building and attacked a nearby office.

PTI spokesman Zulfikar Bukhari shared a video of the clash on social media (X) (formerly Twitter), defined the government's declaration of emergency as a coup and warned that the situation could spread.

However, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government spokesman Samar Harun Billur called the allegations of police firing live ammunition "baseless and absurd" and claimed that they were spread by an anonymous social media account using a video generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

He said police responded cautiously to the rioting and vandalism, adding that four cases were registered under the anti-terrorism law and about 50 people were arrested.

Previously, the Pakistani government declared a state of emergency on the 11th, stripping the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government of its powers and arresting Prime Minister Sohail Afridi.

At the same time, he claimed that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had colluded with the separatist armed group Pakistan Taliban (TTP).

Since last month, PTI has been pressuring the government, saying it will hold a large-scale march from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the party's stronghold, to the capital Islamabad, demanding the release and transfer to the hospital of former Prime Minister Khan, who was imprisoned on corruption charges.

Accordingly, the Pakistani government deployed more than 30,000 security guards in the Islamabad area and blocked the surrounding access roads to prevent protests.

Former prime minister Khan, a former cricket superstar and political rival of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, came to power in 2018, but after conflict with Pakistan's powerful military, he resigned in 2022 following a vote of no confidence in the parliament.

In May of the following year, he was arrested on charges of corruption, and has since been convicted several times on charges of corruption and abuse of power, and is currently serving time in prison.

In recent years, former prime minister Khan's supporters have repeatedly held rallies across the country demanding his release, with some rallies turning violent.