KARACHI        -      The gun attack on Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairmana and former Prime Minister Imran Khan
in Wazirabad triggered street
protests in Karachi and other
parts of Sindh on Friday. While
Mr Khan suffered wounds in his
legs, several of his close associates were also hit in the burst
for an automatic weapon. Large
groups of Pakistan Tehreek-iInsaf workers took to the street,
burnt tyres, staged sit-in and
blocked key road and intersections causing traffic jams on almost all main thoroughfares of
the metropolis. As soon as the
news of the attack on PTI chairman hit the headlines, party
workers started holding demonstrations in many areas of the
city. The protesters converged
on key intersections of the city
amid calls from their leaders on
social media to protest against
the “assassination attempt” on
Imran Khan. Over a dozen intersections and key points in the
city witnessed angry protests
that continued into night hours.
A number of workers, including women, held a march from
PTI’s office, called Insaf House,
to Sharea Faisal and staged a
sit-in on main Nursery bus stop.
The protest led to complete
blockade of the track between
Karachi airport and Metropole
Hotel, causing traffic jams on
other roads leading to Shrea
Faisal, and hundreds of vehicles turned to service lane and
streets of neighbouring PECHS.
The same situation was witnessed at Five Star intersection
in North Nazimabad, Power
House intersection in North Karachi, Hub River Road, Shah Faisal Colony, Sohrab Goth, Qayyumabad and Teen Talwar, Clifton.
A senior leader of PTI Karachi chapter and MPA Shahzad
Qureshi said that there was a
spontaneous reaction from people across the city though the
party had announced protests at
only five major points. “But the
people are coming out of their
homes and taking to streets on
their own and within no time we
are witnessing protest at around
a dozen places of Karachi where
a number of people, including
women and children, are registering their protest against
attack on their beloved leader
in a peaceful manner,” he said.
Though the protests remained
by and large peaceful, there
were a few complaints of aggressive posture on the part of a few
enraged workers at some points
where vehicles were denied way
to block roads. In a video that
went viral on the social media, a
group of PTI workers was seen
forcibly disrupting traffic movement on a road and beating up a
rider for defying their directives.
PROTESTS IN OTHER TOWNS
In Hyderabad, PTI workers
tried to force closure of shops in
different areas and staged protest at Hyder Chowk, Latifabad
Unit-2 and Autobahn Road.
Enraged workers of PTI took
to the streets in several Sindh
towns as well. Activists blocked
Katchehry Road in Dadu and
staged a demonstration outside the local press club. They
marched through roads before
staging a demonstration at
Ghanta Ghar Chowk. The activists took out processions in the
towns of Johi, Mehar, Sehwan,
Kotri, and Jamshoro towns. Similar protests were staged in Nawabshah, Sakrand, Kazi Ahmed,
Moro, Kandiaro and Naushahro
Feroze towns where PTI workers
blocked roads and highways