Imran Khan supporters defy teargas, blockades to reach Islamabad’s D-Chowk for sit-in protest

ISLAMABAD: A large convoy of supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party reached the iconic D-Chowk area in Islamabad on Tuesday to stage a sit-in protest there, defying roadblocks and teargassing after clashes claimed the lives of three Rangers personnel and a police officer.
Thousands of rallygoers, who set out from various parts of the country on Sunday in caravans, entered Islamabad on Tuesday morning where they clashed with law enforcers on the city’s Srinagar Highway. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said three Rangers personnel and one Punjab Police constable were killed in the clashes. Khan’s party denied the allegations and said that the Rangers personnel had been crushed by police and Rangers vehicles speeding away from protesters.

The PTI is protesting for the release of political prisoners, including Khan, among other demands. Pakistan’s government has invoked Article 245 of the constitution to deploy the army in the capital, with the state broadcaster saying that the army has been directed “to deal with the miscreants with an iron hand.”
“D-Chowk means D-Chowk,” Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, a close aide of Khan, told charged supporters from atop a container. “Till Imran Khan does not give us an order, we will not go back. We are peaceful, let us stage out sit-in protest.”

Supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party set out despite the government refusing to grant the PTI permission to enter Islamabad for a sit-in. Last week, the district administration also imposed a two-month ban on public gatherings in the capital, citing security challenges and inconvenience to the public.
ARMY DEPLOYED IN ISLAMABAD
Separately, Pakistan’s government invoked Article 245 of the constitution to bring in the army in Islamabad as the unrest grew.
“Under Article 245, the Pakistan Army has been called in, and orders have been issued to deal with the miscreants with an iron hand,” Radio Pakistan said.
“Clear orders have also been issued to shoot miscreants and troublemakers on sight.”

Meanwhile, the PTI alleged on social media platform X that law enforcers had opened fire on its unarmed supporters in the capital. It said that the party’s protest caravan in the city’s G-11 area was being heavily teargassed.
Islamabad has remained under a security lockdown since Sunday, with authorities closing all schools in the capital and the adjacent garrison city of Rawalpindi, while Internet and WhatsApp messaging services have also slowed.
All routes connecting Islamabad and Rawalpindi have been completely shut since Sunday, as are highways and roads from other cities leading to the federal capital.
Inspector General (IG) Punjab, Dr. Usman Anwar, said on Monday that 119 cops had been injured, some of them due to gunfire by miscreants.
Speaking to reporters, Naqvi said the government had offered the PTI a designated place at Sangjiani area in Islamabad to protest.
“A head of state is in Islamabad, it is a sensitive [time], we do not want to go to an extreme step at D-Chowk,” Naqvi said, referring to the Belarusian president, who is in Islamabad with a high-level delegation.
“But do not cross the red line which forces us to go to that extreme step.”

US CALLS FOR PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATIONS
US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller reacted to ongoing protests in Islamabad, saying that Washington supports freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly in every country. 

“We call on protesters to demonstrate peacefully and refrain from violence, and at the same time, we call on Pakistani authorities to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to ensure respect for Pakistan’s laws and constitution, as they work to maintain law and order,” the Miller said. 
He declined to comment when a reporter asked him whether it looked like Pakistan’s future was heading in the same direction as that of Bangladesh, where protests this year toppled Sheikh Hasina’s government and forced her into exile. 
‘TILL MY LAST BREATH’
The PTI march started on Sunday but could not reach Islamabad the same day as shipping containers placed by the government on key points on major highways slowed the pace of the caravans. The PTI says its final destination is D-Chowk, a high-security area in the capital’s Red Zone that houses key government buildings and is a popular site for protests. 

The largest PTI protest caravan began its journey from Peshawar, the provincial capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province where Khan’s party is in power. It is being led by KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Khan’s wife Bushra Khan, who was released on bail in October after nearly nine months in detention. 
Khan has been in jail since August last year and faces a slew of charges he says are politically motivated. 
“Until Khan does not return to us, we will not end this march,” Bushra said to supporters from atop the protest caravan on Monday afternoon. 
“I will stand there till my last breath, you people have to stand by me. I will keep standing even if nobody does because this does not concern just my husband but the country and its leader.”
Islamabad police has confirmed over 400 arrests related to the protest in the past few days, saying the detainees were being held in different police stations. The PTI said over 3,500 of its leaders and supporters had been arrested in connection to the protests.

The PTI’s march has coincided with a visit to Islamabad by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko and a 68-member delegation to discuss investment deals. The government has accused the PTI of trying to sabotage the foreign visit in a bid to destabilize its economic recovery efforts. 
The PTI rejected this criticism, saying its protest had been called before the announcement of the Belarusian delegation’s visit.