https://arab.news/v4gmn
- Constable Abdul Hameed Shah was injured during clashes between Khan supporters and Islamabad police officials on Saturday night
- Khan supporters have been protesting since Friday against proposed constitutional amendments, demanding his release from prison
ISLAMABAD: A police constable succumbed to his wounds on Sunday after he was injured in clashes with supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, Islamabad Police spokesperson said, as the protest in Pakistan’s capital entered its third day today.
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.
Almost all main arteries leading to the capital were sealed off with shipping containers on Friday ahead of the protests while mobile phone services were also suspended. Local media reported mobile phone services were restored in some parts of the capital on Sunday afternoon.
“Constable Abdul Hameed Shah of the Islamabad police, who was injured during last night’s PTI protest in the federal capital, passed away while receiving medical treatment in the hospital,” Muhammad Taqi Jawad, Islamabad Police spokesperson, told Arab News.
“Miscreants kept torturing police constable Shah after abducting him,” he added.
Jawad said Shah was posted at 26 Chungi area in the capital from where he was abducted by protesters. A resident of the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, Shah joined Islamabad Police in 1988 and was serving in its investigation wing.
An undated file photo of Constable Abdul Hameed Shah. (Photo courtesy:
@ICT_Police/ X)
He was set to retire in three months upon completing his police service, Jawad said.
Speaking about the current situation in the federal capital, the police spokesperson said protesters who had entered Islamabad with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur have left, adding that there is no sit-in protest happening in the city currently.
“No protesters are in Islamabad right now and the roads are partially opened,” he said.
Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Shah’s killing, blaming the PTI for violent protests.
“PTI always adopted the path of violence under the guise of protest,” Sharif was quoted as saying by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
“The prime minister has directed to bring all people involved in the incident to justice.”
GANDAPUR ‘ABDUCTION’
Tensions between the government and the PTI escalated on Saturday after the paramilitary Rangers force stormed KP’s administration office in Islamabad, leading to the party saying that 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.”
When asked about an update regarding the chief minister’s whereabouts, his secretary Zarwali Khan told Arab News: “Nothing yet.”
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 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.