Islamabad: Pakistan is witnessing a serious law and order situation in the capital, as jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters held massive protests in Islamabad demanding their leader's release from prison and the independence of the judiciary. Police fired tear gas on protesters amid tight security measures, blocking all highways, suspending mobile services and imposing Section 144.
On Saturday, Pakistan Army troops were deployed in Islamabad to ensure security ahead of the protest called by Imran Khan at the D-Chowk after clashes between PTI and police on the previous day. The army would remain in the city from October 5-17 to maintain law and order for the upcoming SCO Summit, which foreign delegations will attend including Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The call for protest was given by the 71-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician who has been incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail for more than a year. He asked his followers to converge at the iconic venue in the capital to register a protest. It is the same venue where Imran held a sit-in for 126 days in 2014 against alleged rigging in the elections.
What is happening in Islamabad?
Police resorted to firing tear gas on protesters while PTI workers pelted stones while clashing with the law enforcement, according to Geo News. As many as 17 PTI workers have been booked under terrorism charges, which also includes anti-terror provisions, along with 250 unidentified workers.
Life in the capital and adjacent Rawalpindi remained disturbed for a second consecutive day with mobile network services suspended and major roads and entry points still blocked by containers, according to Dawn. Hundreds of PTI activists, including senior leaders, had gathered at multiple locations in Islamabad on Friday, in defiance of heavy police blockades and road closures.
As the PTI workers led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur made their way to D-Chowk, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said no one would be allowed to violate the law and damage properties in the name of a protest. Naqvi said some elements intend to march to Islamabad in the name of a political protest.
Pak ministers blame PTI for 'creating chaos'
Naqvi said on Saturday that a total of 120 Afghan nationals were arrested in the past 48 hours, with 41 of them “caught” in yesterday’s clashes between the PTI and the Islamabad police. Meanwhile, as the PTI plans to hold a protest at Lahore’s Minar-i-Pakistan, the Punjab government issued orders for army troops to be deployed, allowing it to take certain measures to “maintain law and order”.
Meanwhile, Pakistan government ministers lambasted PTI, accusing it of trying to create chaos in the country, particularly during visits by foreign dignitaries. “PTI is a terrorist party and has nothing to do with politics. This disruptive group always opposes national development. The prisoner from Adiala Jail [Imran Khan] seeks chaos, destruction, and bloodshed,” Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said in a statement.
Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said, “We have to show the soft and positive identity of Pakistan to the world; the opposition can hold its protest on the floor of parliament.” He further recalled that PTI held a sit-in when the Chinese president (Xi Jinping) was due to visit the country in 2014.
Imran Khan's message
On October 2, Imran Khan sent a message from the Adiala Jail, where he is currently imprisoned, accusing Pakistan's Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa of "ruining" the country's Constitution and Supreme Court as well as crushing PTI and ensuring Nawaz Sharif's acquittal in all cases. "Now all of them (coalition partners) are plotting to ensure a wrongful verdict from the Supreme Court that they can then use to “legally” coerce our members into voting for the unconstitutional amendments that they desire," he said.
Over 100 PTI workers have been arrested - including Imran Khan's sisters Aleema Khan and Uzma Khan. Imran Khan’s party held three major political events, including a rally each in Islamabad and Lahore, and a protest in Rawalpindi. The party had called for protests in Mianwali, Bahawalpur and Faisalabad on Wednesday, which was be followed by the power show at D-Chowk in Islamabad on Friday.
(with agency input)
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