Pakistan’s military crushes pro-Palestine protest while PM calls Trump “man of peace”

Pakistan’s military has violently suppressed a large pro-Palestine protest marching from Lahore to the US embassy in Islamabad. The protest, which was led by the religiously conservative party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). Demonstrators marched in solidarity with Palestinians and in opposition to the normalising of relations with the Israeli occupation. Earlier in the week the Pakistani military was engaged in a full-blown skirmish with Afghanistan after it targeted TLP leaders in Kabul before a ceasefire that came to effect yesterday.

This protest and its violent suppression took place as Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was attending the Gaza ‘Peace Summit’ in Egypt, where he nominated Trump – a war criminal who is complicit in the Gaza genocide – for the Nobel Peace Prize for a second time. Sharif praised Trump, calling him a ‘man of peace’.

Pakistan’s bloody pro-Palestine march

While official accounts claimed at least five deaths, including a police officer, according to witnesses and activists the number of fatalities was much more. A number of people were also wounded by live ammunition, tear gas, and batons deployed by security forces against the protesters, while the government enforced road closures, internet blackouts, and mass arrests in affected cities such as Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Lahore.​​

The protesters’ route began in Lahore at the headquarters of TLP, and proceeded along the road towards Islamabad. Eventually, protestors were directed toward a location where they were trapped by barriers, forcing them to stage a sit-in. Although TLP leader Saad Rizvi requested negotiations to de-escalate tensions, these were rejected. Those sent to negotiate were arrested, and following authorisation to use lethal force, Pakistan’s military carried out a violent crackdown on protesters, resulting in many deaths and injuries. Videos circulated showing police vehicles attempting to run over demonstrators and shoot unarmed protesters while chasing after them. Rizvi was also shot and detained. The whereabouts of Rizvi and his brother Anas are currently unknown.

Is this a new chapter in Pakistan’s uneasy relationship with Israel?

Officially, Pakistan has refused to recognise the Israeli regime without a just resolution to the Palestinian issue based on pre-1967 borders and East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. But, the ongoing Abraham Accords – normalisation agreements – between the Israeli regime and several Muslim-majority countries since 2020 have reignited debate inside Pakistan. This attempt at normalisation follows a similar pattern where certain Gulf states have deepened ties with Israel. Given the fact that Pakistan depends economically and strategically on those Gulf states, the geopolitical pressure to align with Israel is severe.

The Pakistani military’s closer alignment with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, including a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement signed in September 2025, adds pressure to engage with Israel, though formal recognition remains unlikely anytime in the near future.​

The violent crackdown on TLP was intended to serve as a warning not to oppose these foreign policy shifts. Restrictions on funerals of the dead and raids on families’ homes also show that Pakistani authorities are attempting to suppress dissent. The government has also frozen TLP’s assets and sealed their offices and mosques to dismantle the group.

The Pakistani government is moving towards normalisation with the Israeli occupation despite the widespread public and Islamist opposition, and this will only lead to a further increase in tensions and violence.  Authorities say they have detained more than 2,700 people as a result of this latest protest.

Featured image via The Canary