MANSEHRA: After fleeing from the site of the PTI’s high-stakes Islamabad protest, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Wednesday resurfaced in Mansehra, where he assured his party workers that the “sit-in is still ongoing” while the police said that nearly 1,000 protesters were arrested.
Meanwhile, the government claimed that the protests caused a loss of Rs190 billion to the economy.
After a day of clashes between security forces and protesters in the city’s Red Zone ended in the party leadership’s hasty retreat, the PTI announced in the early hours of Wednesday that it was calling off its planned protest sit-in “for the time being”.
As PTI supporters inched towards the heavily barricaded D-Chowk late on Tuesday, the police and security forces employed intense teargas shelling to disperse the protesters.
What we know so far:
PTI suspends protest ‘for the time being’
Data services restored in capital, routes reopened
PTI claims at least 8 dead in ‘shooting at protesters’
Info minister says ‘no state firing on protesters’
PTI’s Yousafzai questions leadership’s ‘absence’, criticises Bushra
HRCP calls for ‘political introspection’, dialogue
Addressing a press conference in the afternoon in Mansehra, CM Gandapur said the sit-in “is still ongoing”, adding that it would not end till PTI founder Imran Khan ordered so.
“People have died in this protest, we must pray for them,” the chief minister said during the press conference held at the residence of KP Speaker Babar Saleem Swati.
“We have been targets of violence,” he said, lamenting that the PTI was not permitted to protest whenever it sought to.
“When we gave the protest call, we said this would be peaceful. Imran Khan said we will go to D-Chowk peacefully and we will not go ahead of D-Chowk where we are not permitted.
“[Imran] Khan sahib gave this call, and he said this protest will continue until I call it off,” CM Gandapur highlighted.
The chief minister remarked, “It is not necessary that every sit-in has people in it.”
“Unfortunately, our party has been cracked down upon, our mandate has been stolen. Our leader is in jail, our leader’s wife was thrown in jail,” Gandapur said, referring to Imran and Bushra, who was recently freed on bail after nine months in jail.
“We were going peacefully, talking peacefully, and in the end, the govt came in our path and inflicted violence on us. Why were bullets rained down on us?” the KP CM asked.
Terming the planned sit-in a “revolution”, the chief minister said: “If you try and stop it, people will come through other means.”
Speaking alongside Gandapur, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan alleged there was “an attack with a murderous intent” on Gandapur and Bushra Bibi at D-Chowk, where they were leading their convoy.
“We are a democratic and peaceful party. We were shot at, which I gravely condemn,” the MNA said.
Ayub also called for an investigation into the deaths of two policemen and three Rangers personnel.
He claimed “rescuing” five policemen from Pathargarh in Islamabad. “We are not unjust but others are unjust to us in return,” he lamented.
Bushra Bibi, CM Gandapur and Ayub were set to address an “emergency” press conference at 11am today, according to Taimur Saleem Swati, senior vice president of PTI’s Hazara chapter. However, when the two men finally addressed the media, the former first lady was not seen alongside them.
Gandapur’s announcement came after the PTI called off the protest “for the time being” in the early hours of Wednesday, following the government crackdown on its supporters.
A press release shared by the party on its official X account read: “In view of the government’s brutality and the government’s plan to turn the capital into a slaughterhouse for unarmed citizens, [we] announce the suspension of the peaceful protest for the time being.”
It added that future plan of action would be announced “in light of the directions” of its incarcerated founder Imran Khan after the party’s political and core committees presented their “analyses of the state brutality” to him.
The statement, issued by the party spokesperson, condemned the alleged “killing” and “terror and brutality against peaceful protesters in the name of an operation”.
The party appealed to Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi to take suo motu notice of the alleged “brutal murder of martyred [party] workers” and order legal action against the prime minister and interior minister as well as Islamabad and Punjab police chiefs for “attempt to murder”.
“We will chalk out the new strategy later after proper consultation, Mohammad Asim, PTI’s Peshawar president, told Reuters. He said that Bushra Bibi as well as CM Gandapur had returned “safely” to KP from Islamabad.
More than 10,000 protesters surged into the city on the weekend, defying a ban on public gatherings and a lockdown to skirmish with 20,000 security forces enlisted to turn them back, AFP reported.
Overnight, security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters wielding sticks and slingshots, as roadblocks were set ablaze.
The late-night retreat by the PTI leadership, including Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi and CM Gandapur, came after the latter was heard telling the protesters “to go home, have dinner and return tomorrow”.
By early Wednesday, AFP staff saw the main thoroughfare towards Islamabad’s government enclave cleared of crowds, and security forces in riot gear being bussed away from the area.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement they had “bravely repulsed the protesters”.
On Wednesday morning, the heavily fortified Red Zone was empty of protesters but several of their vehicles were left behind, including the remains of a truck from which Bushra Bibi had been leading the protests that appeared charred by flames, according to Reuters witnesses.
Women and children collect recyclables from the burnt truck used by Bushra Bibi, after security forces launched a raid on PTI supporters who had stormed the capital demanding his release on Tuesday, in Islamabad on Nov 27, 2024. — Reuters
A rally truck used by Bushra Bibi burns near the red zone after a protest to demand Imran Khan’s release, in Islamabad on Nov 27, 2024. — AFP
As PTI supporters faced off with security personnel across the federal capital on Tuesday, with both sides using tear gas and rubber bullets, at least two were killed and over 60 were injured during clashes.
The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) confirmed the death of two civilians and injuries to around 60 persons, including security personnel. At least three injured policemen and 10 civilians were also shifted to Polyclinic for treatment.
A total of six lives were lost in the three days of protests, which included a policeman and three Rangers officials who perished in a vehicular accident, officials and hospital sources said.
