No amount of state oppression and fascism by this imported govt can stop or deter our march, says PTI chairman
Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, along with other party leaders, on Wednesday reached Islamabad after PTI workers and supporters also made their way towards the federal capital, pushing aside containers and braving tear gas shelling.
A large number of party workers and supporters were present at Islamabad toll plaza to welcome their leader.
PTI leader Faisal Javed Khan, taking to Twitter, said that Imran Khan’s caravan had entered the federal capital.
“This caravan has not entered Islamabad but into a naya (new) Pakistan,” he wrote, adding that they will earn “real independence” now.
الحمداللہ عمران خان کا کارواں اسلام آباد کی حدود میں داخل ہو گیا ہے – یہ کارواں اسلام آباد نہیں بلکہ نئے پاکستان میں داخل ہوا ہے – ایک آزاد اور خودمختار پاکستان انشاء اللہ – قوم کا مطالبہ – فوری انتخابات – انشاء اللہ ہم حقیقی آزادی حاصل کریں گے – #حقیقی_آزادی_مارچ
— Faisal Javed Khan (@FaisalJavedKhan) May 25, 2022
“The workers present at D-Chowk wait for me… I am bringing a sea of people there,” Khan announced atop his container.
Islamabad IG Police said in a statement that eight police officials of Capital Police and seven personnel of Pakistan Rangers sustained injuries as protesters pelted stones on law enforcers.
He directed the administration to provide medical aid to the injured personnel, adding that they helped in maintaining the writ of the state.
مظاہرین کے پتھراؤ سے اسلام آباد پولیس کے 08، پاک رینجرز کے 07 جوان زخمی ہوئے۔آئی جی اسلام آباد نے زخمی ہونے والے جوانوں کے بہترین علاج معالجہ کی ہدایت کی۔افسران و جوانوں نے ریاست کی رٹ کو برقرار رکھنے میں اپنا بھرپور کردار ادا کیا۔ آئی جی اسلام آباد
2/2 pic.twitter.com/hK72DNbkvw— Islamabad Police (@ICT_Police) May 25, 2022
SSP Security Syed Ali Akber Shah briefed the Islamabad IG over the law and order situation in Islamabad’s Red Zone.
آئی جی اسلام آباد ڈاکٹر اکبر ناصر خان پولیس افسران و جوانوں کے ہمراہ ریڈ زون میں موجود۔ ایس ایس پی سیکیورٹی سید علی اکبر شاہ نے آئی جی اسلام آباد کو ریڈ زون کی سیکیورٹی اور لاء اینڈ آرڈر کی موجودہ صورتحال سے متعلق بریف کیا۔
1/2 pic.twitter.com/xkZzHF0N6C— Islamabad Police (@ICT_Police) May 25, 2022
Khan earlier in the evening said that his long march had entered Punjab and heading towards Islamabad.
“No amount of state oppression and fascism by this imported govt can stop or deter our march,” the former premier wrote on his official Twitter handle.
The PTI chief in a fresh statement to his supporters this evening asked them to take to the streets following the top court’s verdict regarding the venue of the political gathering.
سپریم کورٹ کے فیصلے کے بعد پوری قوم کو کہتا ہوں اپنی فیملیز کیساتھ باہر نکلیں اور اس امپورٹڈ حکومت کے خلاف احتجاج کریں، میں ڈی چوک پہنچ رہا ہوں اور آپ سب کو کہتا ہوں کہ باہر نکل کر پیغام دیں کہ ہمیں کسی کی غلامی قبول نہیں ہے۔ عمران خان
#حقیقی_آزادی_مارچ pic.twitter.com/9AH36vNeWW— PTI (@PTIofficial) May 25, 2022
“I urge the entire nation to take to the streets with their families after the decision of the Supreme Court,” Imran said in a video statement released from an undisclosed location.
The former premier added that he was on his way to the famous D-Chowk and asked his supporters to come out of their homes to convey a message that they won’t accept anyone’s subservience.
Soon after Imran Khan’s call, a large number of PTI supporters started gathering at Lahore’s Liberty Chowk, chanting slogans against the government.
According to PTI, the police resorted to heavy shelling at Liberty where women and children were protesting peacefully.
Meanwhile, former state minister Zartaj Gul urged PTI supporters to assemble at Islamabad’s D-Chowk.
Choking on smoke from an onslaught of shelling and tear gas, Gul emphasised that if PTI supporters do not come to D-Chowk “they will regret it for the rest of their lives”.
‘Red Zone no-go area’
Soon after Imran Khan’s announcement that he will reach Islamabad’s D-Chowk soon, the Capital Police vowed to stop anyone from entering the federal capital’s Red Zone.
“If anyone tried to come near the Red Zone, he will be dealt with an iron hand,” Islamabad IG Dr Akber Nasir said.
Akber said that he has asked the officers not to use force in other areas of the capital. He also appealed to the protesters not to damage public property and remain peaceful.
PTI workers had allegedly set fire to trees and green belt in Blue Area of the federal capital.
وفاقی دارالحکومت کے مرکزی علاقہ بلیو ایریا میں پی ٹی آئی کارکنان نے درختوں اور گرین بیلٹ کو نذر آتش کردیا pic.twitter.com/nznKg6x5ts
— Ghazanfar Abbas (@ghazanfarabbass) May 25, 2022
Earlier, the PTI chairman had denied rumours of a deal with the government and said “absolutely not” to any such prospects. He added the party leadership was not moving toward the federal capital.
“We will remain in Islamabad till the announcement of dates for dissolution of assemblies and elections are given.” He further urged the people of the twin cities to join PTI’s march.
Rumours & delib disinfo that a deal has been done. Absolutely not! We are moving towards Islamabad & no question of any deal. We will remain in Islamabad till announcement of dates for dissolution of assemblies & elections are given. Calling all ppl of Islamabad & Pindi to join
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 25, 2022
Imran earlier arrived at Wali interchange in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and later left for Islamabad. Other party leaders departed for the federal capital from their respective areas.
Speaking to charged party supporters in Swabi, he told his supporters that they will go to Islamabad’s D-Chowk and “no one can stop us”.
Referring to the incumbent government as a “group of thieves”, the PTI chairman lamented that party supporters were being detained and harassed.
Imran said the government was afraid as they had been “plundering national wealth” for the last three decades. “Whatever they do, we will cross all blockades and reach D-Chowk.” The ousted premier added that the protest will be peaceful.
Maintaining that staging a protest was the party’s constitutional right, he added that he would unite the country and “make it a nation”.
“This country will not accept the imported government.”
Section 144 imposed in Punjab
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, Punjab government spokesperson Atta Tarar said that section 144 has been imposed as the PTI wanted to disrupt peace in the country.
He said that a control room has been set up to monitor violence and police will take swift action against law violators.
Clashes at Karachi’s Numaish Chowrangi
Sindh Police and PTI workers clashed at Karachi’s busy intersection Numaish Chowrangi. The party workers torched a police van and removed all the hurdles created by the law enforcement agencies.
The police resorted to aerial firing and teargas shelling to disperse the protesters. However, the PTI workers responded by throwing stones at the law enforcers.
PTI Karachi’s President Bilal Ghaffar later staged a sit-in at the busy intersection. According to protesters, one person was injured due to the aerial firing of the police. The injured person has been shifted to a local hospital.
Lahore clashes
Police in Lahore and workers of PTI clashed earlier in the morning as the latter managed to push their way through the containers deployed at Batti Chowk by the government to stop the protesters from reaching Islamabad.
Law enforcers resorted to tear gas after PTI supporters tried to remove the containers placed on the routes exiting Lahore. PTI leaders Yasmin Rashid, Hammad Azhar, and Shafqat Mehmood were leading the workers. The party supporters, resultantly, hurled stones at the police.
At least 12 workers of the PTI were taken into custody by the police after the clashes. Former Punjab health minister Yasmin Rashid was also stopped briefly by local law enforcement, with the party claiming that the police tried to “snatch her car keys”. A video of the incident shared on social media showed a purported PTI supporter resisting the arrest of the former minister.
Rashid in a statement, also said the windshield of her vehicle was broken by police. She said that she faced difficulty in leaving the area, but is now on her way to Islamabad.
“This government has lost its senses. I am an 80-year-old woman. Why are they threatened of me? How is stopping a peaceful protest democratic?”
Rashid added that despite everything, the enthusiasm of the workers was better than ever.
The former health minister was later briefly detained along with senior party Andalib Abbas in the area of Ravi road while they were taking refuge in a camp. Both PTI leaders chanted slogans against the government during the arrest and were later released.
PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said party supporters on the Jhelum and Azad Kashmir border were continuing to skirmish with police officials and the bridge has been blocked with containers.
کشمیر اور جہلم کے بارڈر پر اس وقت تحریک انصاف کے کارکنان اور پولیس میں مقابلہ جاری ہے کنٹینرز لگا کے پل بند کر دیا گیا ہے pic.twitter.com/P3uqVHcbFF
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) May 25, 2022
‘Weapons recovered from PTI office bearers’
In a tweet, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz alleged that the Punjab police had recovered weapons from the vehicles of PTI Lahore office-bearers Zubair Niazi and Bajash Niazi.
She shared the pictures of the cache recovered and said, “This is the ugly face of the so-called long march. These are the intentions.”
According to the firebrand PML-N leader, the police have registered a case against the PTI members.
Weapons recovered by punjab Lahore police from vehicles of PTI Lahore office bearers Zubair Niazi and Bajash Niazi. Case registered. This is the ugly face of the so called Long March. These are the intentions. pic.twitter.com/oGZHituEgf
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) May 25, 2022
Traffic jams
Commuters in the twin cities and the areas surrounding Islamabad faced hardship and traffic congestion as the incumbent government blocked multiple roads with containers and other barricades in an attempt to curtail the advance of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s long march on the federal capital.
All routes from Rawalpindi to Islamabad were sealed with containers and routes leading from Rawat Chowk to Islamabad Expressway were closed. Routes on Murree Road were also after various containers were placed.
The Faizabad area was completely sealed from the Express Highway, IJP Road and Murree Road and commuters going to Islamabad faced severe difficulties.
A heavy contingent of Rawalpindi police was also deployed around the blockades.
The Metro bus service and public transport were shut down in Rawalpindi, as were educational institutions, shopping malls and bus stands.
Containers also sealed both sides of the Rawalpindi Sawan Bridge while Rawalpindi to GT road was closed from the seventh bridge.
Read ‘Azadi March’: PTI workers asked to converge at Lahore’s Batti Chowk
Simultaneously, in Lahore, a large contingent of police was deployed at Niazi Chowk and at the Ravi bridge. Lahore GT Road was also closed with the use of containers and police personnel stopped dozens of trucks on the road. The blockades have resulted in massive traffic jams near Babu Sabu Motorway Interchange in the provincial capital.
The incumbent coalition government on Tuesday decided to bar the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf from holding its ‘Azadi March’ to the capital on May 25 (today), raising the alarm that if the “bloody march” is not nipped in the bud, it would “put the survival of the nation at risk”.
In order to pre-empt the anticipated “chaos and disorder”, the government has further imposed a ban on gatherings under Section 144 (power to issue order absolute at once in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The decision to quell the PTI agitation comes amid the government’s anxious measures to shield itself with thousands of security personnel who rolled into the federal capital a day earlier and a slew of arrests and raids on the homes of party leaders. The government has virtually encircled itself with a moat to insulate itself from the marchers.
This will be updated…