Ikram Ullah Khalil
PESHAWAR: The workers of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf on Tuesday staged protest demonstrations in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against arrest of party chairman Imran Khan. The protest rallies were staged across the country. Scores of activists of PTI held demonstrations in Peshawar, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, Khyber, Bajaur, Buner, Nowshera, Mansehra, Mardan, Kurram and other areas of the province.
The protestors chanted slogans in favour of their leader Imran Khan and vowed to stand with him till their last breath. In Peshawar, PTI workers gathered outside the building of Peshawar Press Club. After demonstrating at the press club, they marched on different roads of the city. The protesters also blocked the busy Khyber Road outside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, which resulted in suspension of vehicular traffic in the nearby areas. Long queues of vehicles were seen in the area.
In Mansehra, the PTI workers staged a demonstration in Shinkiari. “Today’s protest has proved that nation stands by Imran Khan,” the local leader said while addressing the charged workers of the party. He said that the PTI workers would continue their efforts till getting ‘release of their leader’. He added they couldn’t be discouraged with the excessive use of police force.
In Kohat, scores of PTI workers staged a demonstration at Kutchery Chowk. They chanted slogans in favour of Imran Khan. The protestors chanted slogans against the government. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers are holding countrywide protests as they await the announcement of a six-member committee for the next course of action following party chairman Imran Khan’s arrest in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
PTI workers also hold protests in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan and Mardan. In Karachi, demonstrators clashed with the police near Nursery. They threw stones at and set fire to police vehicles, tore down street lights and damaged a bus. There were reports that police fired teargas shells at the protesters. Police also fired teargas shells at protesters on Rawalpindi’s Murree Road.
The PTI chairman was arrested as part of the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) investigation in the Al-Qadir Trust case ahead of his appearance before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to seek bail in multiple FIRs registered against him. Rangers personnel driving a black Toyota Hilux Vigo shifted Imran Khan to NAB’s Rawalpindi office.
In a statement, PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said a meeting of the central leadership and members of the emergency committee formed by the party chief has been convened to mull future course of action in view of the arrest. The future course of action will be announced after assessing the situation, he added. PTI leaders Saifullah Niazi, Azam Swati, Ijaz Chaudhary, Murad Saeed, Ali Amin, and Qureshi are part of the emergency committee. Qureshi also condemned the “attack” on the IHC and the alleged torture of the party chief during the arrest. He slammed the law enforcers for taking Khan into custody during biometric verification and storming the court. The senior party leader said the IHC chief justice has taken notice of the arrest and added that the party would continue to fight a legal and political war with full determination.
Activists of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf here on Tuesday held protest demonstration in College Square against the arrest of PTI chairman Imran Khan who was taken into custody in relation to the Al-Qadir Trust case. The protesting workers were led by ex-PTI lawmakers including Mujahid Khan, Iftikhar Ali Mashwani, Malik Shaukat, and Abdus Salam Afridi. The protesters burnt tyres and were chanting slogans against government for arrest their party chief.
Addressing on the occasion, the PTI leaders vowed that they would continue their protest till release of the party chairman Imran Khan. However, the protesters dispersed peacefully from college chowk after the party leaders delivered their addresses.
Later, some PTI workers moved towards the Punjab Regiment Center’s entrance located on Mardan-Malakand road and broke statues installed in meddle of the road in front of the PRC gate.They also hurled stones on the entrance gate. However, a big contingent of police personnel rushed to the spot and disperse the violent protesters by carrying out shelling over them. Besides, sounds of areal firing were also heard from the surrounding areas.
The Imran Khan arrest news spread like forest fire that triggered protest demonstrations on roads across the district and the leaders ship with tigers came on roads and almost all of main squires and roads blocked. The major demonstration was held at district headquarter Daggar where in front of district circuit house the main road to Swat blocked.
The leadership with tigers staged demonstration and sett in on the roads and suspended traffic till our going to the press. The worst affected were the commuters both out districts and the locals and most of them have to walk on feet to reach destinations before falling night.
The marble loaded trucks in hundreds have to parked on road sides and the worried drivers complained of heavy damages to costly vehicles and tyres under the burden of heavy loads. The district chapter president ex aide to CM KPK Riaz Khan in his first speech condemned the arrest and demanded early release of I.K.
He blasted PDM joint government for worst treatment with the PTI leadership and repeated Khan was red line and the government crossed it adding now fighting would erupt on roads.He directed tigers to bring their baggages and stay for night and vowed the sett in would be continued untill I K is released. However,the district administration was yet to mobilize forces and to exercise as per government directives to dealt with the protestors as a list of about 25 rank leaders were already prepared to be detained for maintaining law and order to let locals live with peace,a security agency head confided.
Like other parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Pakistan Tehreek Insaf workers took to the streets in different parts of the district to protest the arrest of their party chief Imran Khan in Islamabad here on Tuesday. The charged workers blocked the main grand trunk road for all kind of vehicular traffic at Balambat, Timergara, Talash, Chakdara, Munda, Mayar and Kumbar Maidan creating hurdles for motorists. The protesters also blocked the Maidan road in front of the Dir Scouts’ Fort and chanted slogans against the government.
