Daily Times

Firebrand Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur headed back to Peshawar as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) protest at Rawalpindi “called off” after violent clashes with police near Liaquat Bagh on Saturday.

The Gandapur-led convoy was stuck at the interchange hours due to closure of roads as the authorities have placed containers at Burhan Interchange in an attempt to thwart PTI’s protest. Addressing the participants, the KP chief executive directed them to return back to Peshawar and castigated the government for not granting PTI its “constitutional right”.

He regretted that the police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters, vowing that they will come back with “all resources”. “They [police] have set a precedent of firing bullets […] We also have guns,” he warned. The firebrand politician noted that the allocated deadline for holding protest in Rawalpindi has ended.

However, Gandapur’s announcement drew strong opposition from the protesters as they refused to return back. The PTI workers chanted slogans against the KP chief minister and party leadership and surrounded their vehicles.

Earlier, clashes broke out between the PTI workers and police near Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh ahead of its planned protest as the garrison city was put on high alert.

The Punjab government had imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in Rawalpindi Division for two days, banning all political gatherings, sit-ins, rallies, protests and similar activities. PTI had initially planned to hold a public rally at Liaquat Bagh, but shifted the event to a demonstration following directives from PTI founder Imran Khan.

It also withdrawn its application seeking a no-objection certificate (NOC) to hold a rally from the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench. PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Salman Akram Raja were also detained in their way to Rawalpindi near Sector H-13 only to be released shortly.

In a statement issued earlier, the PTI said Gohar and Salman were travelling to Rawalpindi when the police stopped their vehicle near Sector H-13 and took them into custody. “They [law enforcers] took both the leaders in a van.”

Following his release, the PTI chief said that the police asked them to go back “instead of heading to Rawalpindi”.

On the other hand, Rawalpindi police spokesperson said that the city was on “high-alert” and police personnel were deployed at the city’s entry and exit points.

The spokesperson reiterated that no illegal public gathering was allowed at any place in Rawalpindi, warning of strict action in case of violation. The Imran Khan-founded party, as part of its months-long efforts to secure permission to hold public gatherings, has managed to hold two rallies in Islamabad and Lahore under strict conditions in recent weeks.