LAHORE/KARACHI/ISLAMABAD/ - QUETTA/PESHAWAR
PTI workers clashed with police as
countrywide protests were staged
against attack on PTI Chairman Imran Khan. Earlier, the party leadership said that they would start holding demonstrations countrywide
after Friday prayers.
The party staged protests in major
cities across Pakistan including Ka rachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Malakand, Rajanpur, Bahawalnagar, Muzaffargarh, and Kohat, among others.
Protests in Lahore
The entire city of Lahore was
put on a standstill as PTI supporters and followers staged
protest in various localities of
the city. PTI workers staged
protest at Governor House Mall
Road, McLeod Road, Thokar
Niaz Baig Chowk, Babusabu Interchange, Bund Road, Shahdara Chowk, MM Alam Road,
Harbanspora, Ring Road, Bhatta Chowk, Shanghai Chowk and
Ferozpur Road.
The protests started after the
juma prayers around 3 pm. The
protests which started at three
o’clock, soon engulfed the entire
city. Tehreek-e-Insaf activists
raised slogans against Prime
Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah.
PTI workers blocked the Main
McLeod Road, Mall road , Babu
Sabu interchange and other important roads by burning tyres.
PTI protestors demonstrated outside the Governor House
also. The agitators also broke
the security cameras placed for
security surveillance of the Governor’s residence.
The police personnel present
at the spot did not take any action against the protestors.
Due to these protests Lahore
Metro bus service was also suspended as a precautionary measure. Metro buses were ordered
to return to the depot station
from the route immediately. On
the direction of the Mass Transit Authority, the operation was
suspended.
Bus operations were suspended to avoid damage by the
protestors. Senator Ejaz Ahmed
Chaudhry, Governor KPK Shah
Farman, Provincial Minister
Atif Khan, Shahram Tarakai,
MPA Nadeem Abbas Bar, Malik Sarfraz Khokhar, Rana Umar
Javed, Khalid Gujjar participated in the protest along with
party workers at Thokar Niaz
Baig. Tyres were set on fire and
roads were blocked.
Senator Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry,
demanded immediate filing of
FIR and dismissal of IG Punjab.
Meanwhile, Dr. Yasmin Rashid
and Mian Mahmood-ul-Rashid
led the protest at Babu Sabu interchange and blocked the road.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Youth Wing ISF also protested in various other parts of the
city including outside the Ravi
& Shalamar Town, Shahdara
Chowk, Sumanabad and Dataganj Bakhsh Town, Babusabu
Chowk, Aziz Harbanspora, Ring
Road, Walton, Bhatta Chowk,
Nishtar Town Ferozpur Road,
Gulberg Town, Kalma Chowk,
Iqbal Town, against the assassination attack on party chairman
Imran Khan.
Members of the National and
Provincial Assembly, ticket
holders, town presidents and
general secretaries led the party workers to demonstrate and
staged sit-ins.
Protests turn violent in twin
cities
Imran Khan’s supporters also
protested in Rawalpindi’s Faizabad Interchange against the
assassination attempt on him
a day earlier. Islamabad Police intermittently fired tear
gas shells to disperse protestors in the area who resorted to
stone-pelting on the police and
Frontier Corps (FC).
Meanwhile, Islamabad Police
and FC have arrested several
PTI workers in Islamabad.
Murree Road has been closed
to traffic in Rawalpindi. Earlier,
protesters blocked Rawalpindi’s
GT Road from both sides which
affected traffic in the area.
After workers ended their
protests in Rawat, GT Road has
been cleared for traffic. PTI’s
women workers, on the other
hand, left after protesting at the
National Press Club.
Demonstrations are also being held at the Maulana Zafar Ali Khan intersection in Wazirabad, where PTI workers
have blocked the traffic moving
from Lahore to Islamabad. Police take on violent protesters in
Karachi
Earlier, Karachi Police baton-charged and fired tear gas
shells at the protesters on the
city’s crucial artery to ensure
their dispersal.
PTI MPA Raja Azhar Khan sustained injuries due to the police’s baton-charge and stampede on Shahrah-e-Faisal. He
vowed to move court against
SSP South.
“Shelling and rubber bullets
cannot bring down our morale,” he added. Police, however, said that around 300 to 500
protesters were heading toward
Metropole from the Gora Qabaristan (Christian’s cemetery).
The protesters did not stop despite several warnings. Finally, the police used tear gas near
Jinnah Hospital Mor to disperse
the protestors.
Two hours after the clashes,
the police finally managed to
disperse the protesters and fully restored the vehicular traffic
on Shahrah-e-Faisal.
The police also took several protestors, including women
into custody. Due to the clashes,
the lane between Jinnah Hospital Mor to Metropole signal
has been blocked for all kinds
of traffic. Another track leading from Saddar police station
to the Metropole signal has also
been blocked.
Meanwhile, in Peshawar, protestors gathered and blocked
the Motorway Interchange.
They raised slogans against
the federal government and in
favour of Imran Khan.
In Quetta, party workers protested at the Mannan Chowk
where provincial leaders are
also present.
In Hyderabad, supporters protested at the Haider intersection, while protesters are also
gathered in Tharparkar’s Kashmir intersection.
Traffic has also been closed
due to protests at the Milad intersection in Lodhran.
Workers are demonstrating
at the Main Bazaar in Mansehra, while protests are also being
held in Orakzai’s Ghilju Bazar
Anjani, Feroze Khel, Headquarters intersection, and Buland
Khel areas.
In Gujrat, various areas have
been closed to traffic, while PTI
workers have blocked the Shaheen Bypass Road.
In Bahawalnagar, protests are
taking place in Rafiq Shah, while
in Rajanpur, supporters are conducting a sit-in at Chowk Allahabad, Rojhan, Fazilpur, and
Jampur. In Rajanpur, PTI workers have blocked the Sindh-Punjab border by burning tyres,
which has caused a long queue
of vehicles stuck in traffic.
Earlier, supporters raised slogans against the attack on their
party chief in Rajanpur where
they have blocked the Indus
Highway.