Thousands of PTI protesters reached the outskirts of Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Amid fierce teargas clashes with law enforcement personnel, thousands of protesters led by Imran Khan Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) arrived in the capital Islamabad on Monday to demand the release of the jailed party chief along with his wife. Bushra Aunty The demonstration will continue till the former PM is released from jail.
Vowing not to allow protests, the government has blocked all routes into and out of Islamabad with shipping containers, and heavy contingents of police and other security forces have been deployed across the capital city. The protesters, however, intend to set up camp at Islamabad D-Chowk, a large square near a number of notable government buildings, including the Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament and the Supreme Court.
Imran has termed the ongoing protests as a “final call” to meet three demands – his release from jail, along with hundreds of party activists detained for the past two years, the reversal of the 26th constitutional amendment that curtails the powers of the judiciary. , and the return of the “stolen mandate” of the February 8 elections.
A convoy of protesters from the southwestern province of Balochistan, which has been traveling for four days and includes women and children, waits for other convoys to arrive at the entry point of Islamabad before marching en masse to the capital. “We are waiting for the main convoy led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM Ali Amin Gandapur,” said PTI supporter Shahjehan Bazai. Imran’s wife has been part of the convoy led by Gandapur.
“We will not end this march until Imran is with us,” she told supporters at a stop near Hazara Interchange. “I will be there till my last breath, and you all have to support me. This is not just about my husband but about the country and its leader,” said Bushra, who was sentenced along with Khan in January but was released on bail in late October.
Tensions between the two sides erupted into violence on Monday when thousands began marching towards the capital. Clashes broke out in the city’s suburbs, with PTI supporters torching police vehicles and pelting stones. Police fired tear gas at protesters who responded with slingshots.
The party has claimed that several of its members have been arrested in a crackdown in Pakistan. “We have already detained more than 4,000 Khan supporters, including five parliamentarians,” said Shahid Nawaz, a senior police officer in East Punjab.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said authorities would arrest more of Khan’s supporters if they reached Islamabad’s Red Zone (D-Chowk), which has been sealed off. “Anyone who reaches it will be arrested,” he said.
The protest, which the government is determined to thwart with force, was originally scheduled to take place on November 24, but caravans breathed a sigh of relief last night after PTI leaders said they were “in no rush to reach the federal capital to do so”. Activists and supporters across the country attempted to resist arrests, lathicharges and tear gas to participate in “or die” protests.