Pelt cops with stones; police resort to baton-charge, teargas shelling, arrests; Imran fails to come out of his residence; Shaikh Rashid unable to hold public rally
ISLAMABAD: Friday was marred by skirmishes, stone-pelting, baton-charge, teargas shelling and arrests as neither the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman could come out of his residence nor the announced public rally of Sheikh Rashid could be held, private TV channels reported.
At least three members of provincial assembly i.e. Minister for Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, Mehmood Khan, Adviser for Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives, Mohibullah Khan and Ubaidullah Mayar, an MPA from Mardan, were among the 40 PTI activists held and shifted to the Adiala Jail for violation of Section-144 that was imposed on Thursday for two months.
The development came as the crackdown in the twin cities continued against protesters belonging to PTI and Awami Muslim League (AML). Tear gas shells were also fired by the Islamabad Police outside residence of Imran Khan in Banigala.
The imposition of Section-144 was exercised on Thursday in the wake of PTI’s warning of paralysing the federal capital on November 2, demanding that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should present himself for accountability.
The PTI workers clashed several times with law enforcement agencies at Imran Khan Chowk throughout the day.Owing to unrest in the city and imposition of Section-144, personnel of Frontier Corps (FC) have also been deployed in Banigala along with the police.
In Rawalpindi, protesters from the PTI and Awami Muslim League (AML) clashed with the police at the Committee Chowk. According to reports, protesters along with PTI MPA Aijaz Khan Jazi were arrested during the clashes.
Protesters on the Committee Chowk pelted police with stones. The police baton-charged and used tear gas to disperse the protesters. Containers were placed on roads leading to Lal Haveli. Rawalpindi’s administration placed these containers to stop the people from reaching Lal Haveli, where the AML chief was expected to hold a public rally.
Chief Secretary Punjab spoke with CPO Rawalpindi over the telephone. According to sources, the chief secretary said the Section 144 was imposed in Rawalpindi and rallies cannot be held. The chief secretary added that no one would be allowed to take the law into their own hands.
The CPO Rawalpindi said containers had only been placed in the surrounding areas of Lal Haveli and Committee Chowk.The Lal Haveli kept awaiting Sheikh Rashid on Friday, but the AML chief could only reach out to the Committee Chowk and left after a brief address to the workers and supporters there.
Sheikh Rashid arrived at the Committee Chowk on a motorcycle amid clashes between the police and protesters on Friday afternoon. “You said I was hiding, but I have reached here under the circumstances,” Rashid said in reference to the country’s leadership. “If you have the courage, come and arrest me. I am ready,” he dared the authorities.
The AML chief demanded the prime minister to present himself for accountability. He claimed that the law enforcement had apprehended nearly 450 people for protesting against the government.
Rasheed told the protesters that all roads leading to the Lal Haveli had been blocked. The AML chief left again on a motorcycle after addressing the protesters for approximately 10 minutes. “Today was a trailer, the film will be shown on November 2,” Rasheed said in a tweet after leaving the Committee Chowk. The PTI workers also held rallies in Karachi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Kohat and some other cities.
Shakil Anjum adds: Over 235 people have been arrested from different areas of Islamabad and Rawalpindi during the agitation against the government on Friday.As many as 72 persons were detained from Banigala and 167 from the Committee Chowk, sources said.
Dozens of people were wounded when police resorted to lathi charge and hurled teargas to disperse the angry people protesting against the government on Imran Khan’s call.The police arrested most of the people coming from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to join the violent protest after resorting to lathi charge. The detained people were later shifted to different police stations of the twin cities.