Police fire tear gas shells to disperses marchers; Over 30 including Khan’s 2 sisters held; Federal capital turns into fortress
Attempts by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protestors to reach D-Chowk opposite Parliament in Islamabad were partially thwarted by police who braced for the main block of protesters from different parts of the country to reach the federal capital.
Police used tear gas to disperse PTI protesters who had gathered here at D-Chowk . Those protesters who did manage to reach D-Chowk were either dispersed using tear gas and rubber bullets or were arrested. Among those arrested were former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan’s sisters, including Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan. They were bundled into the back of police prison vans and taken to the nearest police station for processing.
The police took both the sisters of the incarcerated PTI founder into custody and shifted them to the Secretariat police station. According to police sources, both Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan were arrested along with other workers who had gathered at D-Chowk as part of the planned protest announced by the PTI founder.
Supporters of the party have started arriving in the area, despite heavy police deployment and blockade of all main thoroughfares with containers and barbed wires. Amidst the PTI protest, the Islamabad administration has switched off the lights at D-Chowk and the nearby Jinnah Avenue.
Containers were placed around D-Chowk a day earlier, and entry and exit points to Islamabad were sealed on Thursday night. Heavy contingents of Islamabad police, Elite Force and Frontier Constabulary remain stationed at Jinnah Avenue and D-Chowk.
Meanwhile, clashes erupted as PTI workers hurled stones at the police near the Polyclinic, prompting further tear gas shelling by security forces. Police also fired tear gas at protesters at Faizabad as they attempted to remove obstacles and containers to reach Islamabad’s D-Chowk, where the party has called a protest rally.
PTI workers and the security forces also clashed on the Islamabad Expressway as police resorted to tear gassing. All roads to Islamabad have been closed at multiple locations, cutting off Rawalpindi from its twin city. Heavy police deployments have been made at key points.
Chairing Cross Chowk has been barricaded from both directions, while MH Chowk on Saddar Mall Road has also been closed. Hyder Road, Fleishman’s Hotel Road and Murree Road, Murrer Chowk, and Double Road Stadium have been sealed.
Old Airport Road from Kachheri to Koral, along with Sawan Bridge, remains open. Rawalpindi’s City Traffic Police advised citizens to be mindful of road conditions and avoid unnecessary travel.
According to police sources, motorcycle lanes on major highways connecting the twin cities remain open, but roads leading to the Red Zone and D-Chowk are fully closed.
Talking to the media at D-Chowk, Islamabad Inspector General of Police Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi said: “Proceedings are under way wherever there are attempts to hurt police or damage property. Till now, there have been over 30 arrests. We are updating the exact numbers. It is very clear that we have a clear message that we will not allow the law to be taken into own hands.”
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur is leading a major cohort of PTI supporters from his province along with cranes and heavy machinery to clear the path. Having set off from Swabi in KP, his convoy has yet to reach the federal capital.
