PTI-police clashes
\nPTI leader claims bullets fired on three of their workers and whereabouts of one of them could not be traced
\n PESHAWAR
\nCommenting on the recent clashes between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers and the police in Rawalpindi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur stated that his party would respond to every bullet, tear gas shell, and baton strike against its supporters.
\nIn a statement on Sunday, the firebrand PTI leader claimed bullets were fired on three of their workers and whereabouts of one of them could not be traced.
\n\u201cMore than 50 PTI workers have been injured in shelling as shells and bullets were fired every three kilometres on us,\u201d he said.
\nThe KP Chief Minister Gandapur said this after returning to Peshawar as the PTI protest in Rawalpindi was \u201ccalled off\u201d amid violent clashes between protesters and riot police near Liaquat Bagh.
\nThe Gandapur-led convoy remained stuck at the interchange for several hours due to closure of roads as the authorities had placed containers at Burhan Interchange in an attempt to thwart PTI\u2019s protest.
\nAddressing the participants, the KP chief executive directed them to return to Peshawar and castigated the government for not granting PTI its \u201cconstitutional right\u201d.
\nVowing to come back with \u201call resources\u201d, he regretted that the police fired teargas and rubber bullets at the protesters.
\nOn the other hand, Gandapur said, scores of police officials were caught by the party activists but he rescued them.
\n\u201cThey [police] have set a precedent of firing bullets [\u2026] We also have guns,\u201d he stated.
\nMeanwhile, he saluted the residents of KP and Rawalpindi Division over their support for the former ruling party.
\nPTI workers demand Gandapur\u2019s resignation
\nGandapur\u2019s announcement to postpone the protest on Saturday drew strong opposition from the protesters as they refused to return and demanded his resignation.
\nThe PTI workers surrounded the KP chief minister\u2019s vehicle and staged a protest against the party leadership at Burhan Interchange.
\nHowever, the protest was called off after PTI leader Azam Swati\u2019s intervention.
\nSpeaking to the protesters, the former federal minister said they had cancelled the Rawalpindi protest on Imran Khan\u2019s instructions. \u201cWe have to follow his [PTI founder] directives.\u201d
\nEarlier, the Punjab government had imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in Rawalpindi Division for two days, banning all political gatherings, sit-ins, rallies, protests, and similar activities.
\nPTI initially planned to hold a public rally at Liaquat Bagh but converted the event into a demonstration on the directives of the former prime minister.
\nIt also withdrew its application seeking a no-objection certificate (NOC) to hold a rally from the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench.
\nPTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Salman Akram Raja were also detained on their way to Rawalpindi near Sector H-13 only to be released shortly.
\nIn a statement issued earlier, the PTI said Gohar and Salman were travelling to Rawalpindi when the police stopped their vehicle near Sector H-13 and took them into custody. \u201cThey [law enforcers] took both the leaders away in a van.\u201d
\nFollowing his release, the PTI chief \u2014 while speaking to Geo News \u2014 said that the police asked them to go back \u201cinstead of heading to Rawalpindi\u201d.
\nOn the other hand, Rawalpindi police spokesperson said that the city was on \u201chigh alert\u201d and police personnel were deployed at the city\u2019s entry and exit points.
\nThe spokesperson reiterated that no illegal public gatherings would be permitted anywhere in the city and warned that strict action would be taken against any violations.
\nThe Imran Khan-founded party, as part of its months-long efforts to secure permission to hold public gatherings, has managed to hold two rallies in Islamabad and Lahore under strict conditions in recent weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PTI-police clashes PTI leader claims bullets fired on three of their workers and whereabouts of one of them could not be traced PESHAWAR Commenting on the recent clashes between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers and the police in Rawalpindi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur stated that his party would respond to every bullet, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-434226","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n