In decades of fraught post-colonial history, Pakistan has weathered multiple coups of varying success and brutality.
Yet, according to Aleema Khan, the sister of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan, the recent crackdown by security forces on protests in Islamabad was unlike any before.
From prison, Mr Khan declared Friday a day of mourning to honour protesters his party said were killed in the violence — even as the government continues to deny the deaths.
Thousands of demonstrators had marched on D-Chowk, the square housing Pakistan's seat of power, when lights went dark on November 26.
Ms Khan described the events that followed in emphatic terms.
"It was literally a massacre of protesting people who did absolutely nothing but sit on the roads," she told ABC's The World program.
Ms Khan said protesters were indiscriminately killed as police descended on demonstrations seeking Imran Khan's release from prison — where he has been detained for more than a year — culminating in at least 1,000 arrests.
The precise number of people detained, the death toll, and which side fired live bullets is still disputed by government officials and Khan-aligned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party supporters.
Caught between these groups, Pakistani journalists have reported stubborn resistance to their efforts to cover the unrest and its casualties.
Counting casualties
While Ms Khan did not elaborate on the "dozens" she claims died in Islamabad, the PTI has named 12 allegedly killed by security forces, at least 10 of whom were shot.
Government ministers have acknowledged the deaths of five security officers, but publicly denied any protesters were killed.
Journalist Munizae Jahangir was on the ground when the shooting began.
"Around 8pm [on November 26] the lights went out across the area and shortly after, there was heavy gunfire," she said.
"Tear gas filled the streets, making it difficult for anyone to leave."
As chaos escalated outside, Jahangir said she spoke to grieving families at Islamabad hospitals, including the father of 20-year-old Anees Shahzad.
Mr Shahzad's death certificate states that he went into cardiac arrest due to shock after sustaining a pelvic injury caused by a gunshot.
The certificate was provided by the PTI but local journalists say it is legitimate.
The ABC has not been able to independently verify its authenticity with the hospital.
Other news outlets, such as Al Jazeera, have spoken with family members of Mr Shahzad and other protesters who were allegedly killed during the demonstrations.
However, Jahangir said her efforts to get information from hospital staff were stonewalled.
"Doctors refused to speak on the record, and it's been difficult to verify the total number of casualties," Jahangir explained.
Media blackout
Another journalist, who has worked for respected Pakistani publications and requested to remain anonymous for his safety, said the Pakistan army had exerted pressure to control the narrative surrounding the demonstrations as officials denied guns had been used by security forces.
"There are several forced confessional statements from the protesters which are running on TV," he said.
He attended the protests and described restaurants being forcibly closed to stop protesters eating, and electricity being cut off from the area.
He also alleged security forces intervened to stop reporters counting the dead.
"There were five bodies which we witnessed in two major hospitals — five bodies that journalists were allowed to see," he said.
"Later, the Rangers [security forces] were deployed at hospitals, so journalists were not allowed to go in.
"The army people [told] the journalists to 'f*** off, go away'."
The journalist said he believed the PTI's claim that at least 12 protesters had been killed, and estimated an additional 300 people were missing.
"Either they've been arrested and they have not been shown in record[s], or they are missing or they have disappeared due to fear of arrest," he said.
Multiple departments of the Pakistan government did not respond to ABC requests for comment.
"[Protesters] attacked the capital with modern weapons and they are blaming the security forces. I challenge the entire PTI that anyone show a video of a government official firing at them," Pakistan Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said on X.
Media rights groups have condemned police action against reporters during the protests, including the arrest of YouTube journalist Matiullah Jan, who was detained while reporting from Islamabad's PIMS hospital on November 27 and charged with "terrorism".
After being bailed three days later, Jan claimed to have obtained images of the hospital death register.
"We know there's a lot of anger from the establishment for his reporting," his lawyer told AFP.
Calling on the Commonwealth
Ms Khan — who is also on bail in Pakistan and faces anti-state and terrorism charges following her arrest during a protest in October — told the ABC she risked further charges by speaking to foreign media.
"The reason I'm on an Australian channel, let me tell you why: Australia is a member of the Commonwealth [alongside Pakistan]. If you look at the Charter of the Commonwealth, it says [we share] democracy, human rights and rule of law."
Seema is a former Pakistan government employee now living in Australia, who asked for only her first name to be used due to safety concerns for her family still in Pakistan.
She echoed Aleema Khan's disappointment that there had been no widespread international criticism of the protest deaths.
"Why is the US and international community quiet?" Seema asked.
"They want the region [to remain] unstable, it remains volatile because that's the only way that they can contain China.
"On the other side, the volatility helps Pakistan's military, which is a 'rent-an-army'."
The ABC has contacted Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's High Commission in Islamabad for comment.
At a press briefing while the unrest was unfolding, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US supports freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.
"We call on protesters to demonstrate peacefully and refrain from violence, and at the same time, we call on Pakistani authorities to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms and to ensure respect for Pakistan's laws and constitution as they work to maintain law and order," he said.
Day of mourning and disobedience
November's protests and subsequent crackdown are just the latest episode of a years-long political crisis in Pakistan.
Allegations of mistreatment of Imran Khan in custody, including restricted access to healthcare, have further deepened tensions.
Aleema Khan told the ABC the former prime minister was being "tortured" in prison through prolonged solitary confinement without exercise, and was being deprived of food and light.
Khan has been indicted on dozens of cases, including terrorism charges linked to protests on May 9, 2023, which occurred after his first arrest that month.
He was ousted as prime minister through a no-confidence motion in 2022.
Through the PTI, Imran Khan announced a day of mourning for those killed in November's protests and called for a "civil disobedience movement" to begin tomorrow unless alleged political prisoners were released and a transparent investigation into the unrest was established.
"The government will be responsible for the consequences of this movement," Khan's statement said.
