The information about the arrested individuals comes from Islamabad's police chief Ali Nasir Rizvi, who adds that most of them were made during Tuesday night. A few hours later, it was announced that the activists were gone from the city center, where they had tried to occupy a square near the parliament, after security forces struck against them with tear gas and rubber bullets.
The demonstrators are reported to have been more than 10,000. They defied blockades and a temporary ban on gatherings when they marched towards Islamabad over the weekend, led by Khan's wife Bushra Bibi.
At least six people are reported to have died in protest-related violence in recent days: Four members of the security service and one civilian died when they were hit by a vehicle, and in a separate incident, a police officer died. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has condemned the demonstration and claims that an "anarchist group" has targeted, among others, police officers.
Both Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi have called for calm.
The charismatic former cricket star Imran Khan leads the PTI party. He has been in prison for over a year, for among other things corruption, and was banned from running in the February election.
