ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers and party supporters began to gather on Srinagar Highway near G-13 in Islamabad on Friday, where party chief Imran Khan is reportedly to address them after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) hearing.
Clashes were reported between the protestors and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police. The police resorted to tear gas shelling to disperse the crowds as protestors pelted stones at them.
According to the ICT police, the demonstrators also set a vehicle on fire on Srinagar Highway.
Social media users also reported tear gas shelling and a heavy police contingency on the main road that passes through the federal capital.
Friday marks the fourth consecutive day since PTI supporters have been protesting party chairman and deposed premier Imran Khan’s arrest – in the Al-Qadir Trust case.
The Supreme Court (SC) had deemed the arrest illegal a day earlier, ordering Imran to approach the IHC for bail in the case.
The IHC today granted the former premier two-week interim bail.
Read Govt warns PTI of ‘strict action’ over protests
Ahead of the crucial hearing, PTI leader Hammad Azhar released a short video on Twitter and urged the party’s supporters to reach Islamabad.
“Everyone should reach Islamabad and safeguard themselves from illegal arrests,” said the PTI leader.
In a statement being shared on social media, PTI leader Shehryar Khan Afridi warned that “if something happens to Imran Khan, then we will destroy ourselves but will not let you people live”.
In the same breath, he said, “we are peaceful” but urged the government “not to take decisions that will render the situation out of control”.
Notably, many of the PTI’s senior leaders are in police custody amid an ongoing crackdown, with several other protestors also rounded up for rioting.
Source link: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2416397/pti-supporters-begin-gathering-at-srinagar-highway-in-islamabad