Supporters of Imran Khan's party clash with police in Pakistan's Rawalpindi

Islamabad: Supporters of jailed former Pakistan premier Imran Khan's party on Saturday clashed with police in the garrison city of Rawalpindi during a protest.

Hundreds of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters tried to reach the historic Liaquat Bagh park in the city for a protest called by party founder Khan, but police erected barricades and blocked all major roads.

In videos shared by the PTI, protestors were seen attacking the police with stones and bricks and the law enforcing personnel were seen retreating in haste while being chased by the protesters.

Earlier, Khan, who has been incarcerated in the Adiala Jail of Rawalpindi since last year, had given a call for "peaceful protest", ahead of which, the provincial government banned public gatherings and closed all major roads leading to the city.

The Punjab provincial government responding in the traditional colonial style banned all public gatherings in four districts of the Rawalpindi administrative division.

However, the supporters were seen going to the venue on foot, leading to clashes with police.

Following the clashes, the party called off the protest to avoid any losses. According to videos shared by the party's media team for the media, protestors and police were seen clashing at various locations in the city during the rally.

Tear gas was also used during the rally, canisters of which fell into nearby homes, affecting residents, including women and children. Pedestrians passing the area were also caught in the tense situation.

Later, Syed Zulfiqar Bukhari, a close aide of Imran Khan, confirmed in a voice message on WhatsApp that the party had called off the protest to avoid any losses due to clashes with police. He also accused police of using live ammunition against the protestors.

“Yes, the protest has been called off due to the injuries and the violence that has been done by the Punjab police and that way they are attacking the peaceful protestors,” he said.

He further said the decision to end the protest was taken so that no one should get an excuse to stage violence like May 9 last year.

“We do not want to give them any excuse and reason to do a similar staged attack like May 9 and there must not be any violence or destruction of public property. And in the face of that we want to make sure that it remains peaceful and there must be no excuses to attack or arrest our people afterwards,” he said.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur tried to reach the venue by leading a big rally of supporters from his province but couldn’t make it to the venue and returned as the PTI called off the protest.

There were also reports of a reporter for Geo News being injured during the protest. The channel accused the police of attacking him and it also reported that the Punjab police chief assured of action against the policemen involved in attacking the journalist.

Ahead of the rally, PTI Punjab acting president Hammad Azhar said in a video message that the party would hold a “massive but peaceful political public gathering” at 2 pm. The party’s previous gathering in Lahore last week was forcibly cleared by the police for extending beyond the allowed time.

The deputy commissioners of Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Chakwal and Attock districts requested the Punjab Home Department ban all gatherings in the city, which imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in the Rawalpindi region.

They banned all kinds of gatherings, rallies, demonstrations, jalsas, protests, and other activities like carrying or displaying weapons, expressing fear that miscreants “could take advantage” of the PTI protest to carry out “subversive/ anti-state activities to fulfil their nefarious designs”.

The provincial government also deployed paramilitary Rangers and police forces in Rawalpindi, which is the seat of the powerful army.

The administration also closed all major highways leading to Rawalpindi and blocked the intercity roads to foil an attempt by the local PTI workers to join the protest.

After remaining quiet since the February 8 election, the PTI has become active in recent weeks and Saturday's protest was the third major political activity after two rallies held in Islamabad and Lahore this month.

Its jailed leader 71-year-old Khan has been encouraged by the participation of his supporters in the rallies and decided to test the waters by holding a protest this time. He also avoided the legal challenge of getting permission for a political gathering as peaceful protest is a constitutional right.

The last major protest on May 9, 2023, resulted in widespread violence and the party and its leaders were still paying its price in the form of cases and imprisonments.