In a key development, the Islamabad Police registered a case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior officials, including its chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, for the disruptions that transpired in Islamabad on Wednesday during the “Azadi March.” Besides the PTI supremo, Police have also pressed charges against the party’s leaders such as Asad Umar, Imran Ismail, Raja Khurram Nawaz, Ali Amin Gandapur, as well as Ali Nawaz Awan for breaching the law in the city, ANI reported. Furthermore, at the Kohsar Police Station, two different complaints of rioting and arson were registered.
The first FIR was filed in response to a complaint submitted by a sub-inspector (SI) called Asif Raza, while the second was lodged on behalf of SI Ghulam Sarwar. A total of 150 individuals have been charged, with 39 of them having been detained. The cases have been registered for shattering of glass windows of Geo News and Jang Group buildings, burning metro bus stops on Islamabad’s Jinnah Avenue as well as creating damage to a government vehicle at the Express Chowk, ANI reported.
On Wednesday, Islamabad became a battleground when police clashed with PTI marchers after Imran Khan and his entourage arrived in the city and began moving towards the D-Chowk, disregarding the Supreme Court’s order to conduct a rally between the H9 and G9 regions of Islamabad.
Pakistan Police deployed tear gas canisters to disperse PTI activists during the riots
Following that, the Pakistan Police deployed tear gas canisters to disperse PTI activists on Wednesday, as part of a crackdown on demonstrators taking part in Imran Khan’s ‘Azadi March.’ The police were also spotted lathi-charging and arresting supporters of the deposed Prime Minister’s party. Confrontations were also reported at Kala Shah Kaku and Batti Chowk, while former Health Minister Yasmeen Rashid’s car was purportedly pelted with stones when she was on her way to Islamabad, as per media reports.
The Pakistan government even deployed the army to handle the situation and defend the government’s offices in the Red Zone after PTI protestors continued to engage in violent skirmishes with police and other law enforcement authorities and continued pushing toward the D-Chowk against the court’s order.
Under Article 245 of the Constitution, the military was called in to help contain the situation. According to media reports, riots were not limited to Islamabad; turmoil and disorder extended throughout the country, including to Karachi and Quetta, where demonstrators staged sit-ins.
In addition to this, before the “Azadi March,” Pakistan Police detained major officials of the PTI party and barricaded the capital city of Islamabad. On Tuesday night, the police stormed the homes of PTI leaders and workers on the orders of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration, arresting senior politician Mian Mehmood-ur- Rasheed and numerous others under section 16 of the Maintenance of the Public Order (MPO), according to a Geo News report.