ISLAMABAD: Mobile phone services in Pakistan’s capital remained suspended and all major arteries leading to Islamabad were blocked on Sunday as a protest by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party entered its third day.
Hundreds of Khan supporters arrived in Islamabad from various parts of the country on Friday to take part in a protest at D-Chowk. Over the course of two days, clashes between Khan supporters and police turned violent, with police firing tear gas to disperse protesters. The government has said that dozens of cops were injured in clashes between the two sides.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party announced they were protesting against the government’s proposed constitutional amendments that it claims are aimed at curtailing the independence of the judiciary, with the government repudiating the charge. The party has also been trying to mobilize supporters through protests and public gatherings to pressure the government for the release of Khan, who has been in prison since August last year and faces a slew of legal challenges.
Tensions between the government and the PTI escalated on Saturday after the paramilitary Rangers force stormed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s administration office in Islamabad, leading to the party saying that KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, a close Khan aide who was leading a large caravan of supporters in Islamabad, had been “kidnapped.”
“Release CM KP Ali Amin Khan Gandapur immediately,” Omar Ayub Khan, a senior PTI leader, wrote on social media platform X on Saturday. “His abduction from KP House is blatant terrorism.”
The PTI’s claims led the state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) to deny “rumors” of Gandapur’s arrest on Saturday, saying they were “baseless.”
PTV quoted official sources, as local media channels widely aired videos of heavy deployment of law enforcement and paramilitary personnel at the KP House in Islamabad.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters on Saturday that Islamabad had been “attacked” under Gandapur’s leadership, reiterating that the PTI wanted to create a situation where the government could not hold the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit scheduled to be held on October 15 and 16.
However, he did not answer a question about Gandapur’s whereabouts.
The minister also said the police had arrested 41 Afghan nationals during the clashes with the PTI and apprehended 120 Afghan citizens since Friday. Naqvi maintained the PTI protesters had fired upon police personnel on their way to Islamabad and injured about 85 of them during clashes.
The minister said later in the day that the government would clear the city of all the protesters and make life easier for the residents of Islamabad.
As tensions in Islamabad continue to remain high, the KP Assembly Speaker summoned an emergency session of the assembly on Sunday, which had earlier been adjourned till Monday.