The rally came after 42 Shiites were killed in the northwestern Kurram district earlier this month when gunmen opened fire on convoys of buses and cars. Retaliatory attacks in Kurram also left dozens more people dead.
Also on Thursday, eight people were killed in new sectarian clashes in Kurram, local police official Salim Shah said.
Meanwhile, Islamabad police filed terrorism charges against a journalist, Matiullah Jan, on Thursday after his family said he was abducted by unknown men. Police say Jan, who is now in police custody, refused to stop at a checkpoint and he had snatched a gun from an officer. Police also alleged that Jan was “drunk” when arrested, a charge he denied.
It’s the latest turmoil to rock the country since Khan’s ouster in 2022.
Pakistan’s Stock Exchange lost more than $1.7 billion on Tuesday due to the political tension, but it recovered from on Thursday by surpassing 100,000 points for the first time. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the rebound was a sign of an improving economy.