PTI protesters reach D-Chowk amid intense tear gas shelling

As several PTI protesters reached Islamabad’s D-Chowk, intense tear gas shelling was reported as security forces sprung into action amid a stalemate in talks between the government and the opposition party.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned what he said was an “attack by protesters”, which the interior minister said resulted in the deaths of at least four security personnel.

The incident comes as PTI convoys — plying roads countrywide since Sunday — gather in Islamabad for a much-touted power show to demand the release of its founder Imran Khan, among other things.

What we know so far:

• PM Shehbaz condemns “attack by protesters” that left 4 personnel dead
• PTI alleges Rangers fired live ammunition, killing 2 protesters, injuring 4 others
• Mobile data remains suspended for fourth day
• State media says army deployed under Article 245 to handle “miscreants”
• Belarusian president addresses media with PM Shehbaz in Islamabad
• PSX plunges 3,500 points on political uncertainty

Visuals shared by a Dawn.com correspondent present at the scene show dozens of PTI protesters gathering near Islamabad’s D-Chowk and climbing up containers placed there to obstruct their way.

Army personnel were also standing on top of a container, the correspondent said.

D-Chowk, a roundabout in Islamabad’s heavily fortified Red Zone, has long served as a spot for political protests. The junction leads to critical government buildings, including Parliament House, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Pakistan Secretariat, and the Prime Minister’s Office.

Later visuals showed protesters converging about 550 metres away from D-Chowk, where as many as three layers of containers could be seen piled atop each other.

The government and the PTI have apparently opened a ‘back-channel’ for the sake of negotiations.

Last night, Naqvi seemed to confirm talks with the protesting opposition party, saying that the government had offered Sangjani — the same venue on the outskirts of Islamabad where the PTI held its Sept 8 rally — for the protest.

Late-night media reports suggested that PTI leaders were trying to prevail upon Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi, who is leading the main caravan of protesters coming from KP to Islamabad, to accept the proposal to change the protest venue.

Dawn quoted police officers as saying that the convoy of the PTI leaders and workers coming from KP comprised over 34,000 persons.

On Nov 13, Imran Khan issued a “final call” for nationwide protests on Nov 24, demanding the restoration of the PTI’s electoral mandate, the release of detained party members and the reversal of the 26th Amendment, which he said has strengthened a “dictatorial regime”.

3 Rangers, cop die in ‘attack by protesters’

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said three Rangers personnel and a Punjab policeman lost their lives on Monday, in what he said was an “attack by miscreants”.

Addressing the media at Islamabad’s D-Chowk, Naqvi said: “Yesterday, a total of our four people were martyred, including three Rangers and a Punjab police official.”

Stating that two Rangers and four Islamabad policemen were in critical condition, Naqvi said two additional superintendent of police (ASP) and a superintendent of police (SP) were among the injured.

The minister further said that 70 Punjab cops were also injured, five of whom were in critical condition.

In an earlier statement issued by his ministry, Naqvi had said four Rangers personnel had lost their lives in an alleged attack, condemning it in the strongest terms.

Meanwhile, state-run Radio Pakistan reported the deaths of five personnel, including three Rangers and two Punjab police.

“Scores of others were injured in attacks by the violent PTI workers,” the report claimed, adding that 22 vehicles of the Punjab police had been damaged.

“The police have arrested several violent protesters, while [the] process of identifying the perpetrators is underway,” the state media asserted.

A previous report had also stated that “five other Rangers personnel and several police officials sustained severe injuries”.

While an updated report did not specify the cause of the deaths, an earlier version, citing security sources, had said “miscreants rammed a vehicle into Rangers personnel” on Srinagar Highway in Islamabad.

The report had said a “bunch of miscreants, equipped with weapons and ammunition, pelted stones at the Rangers personnel and carried out indiscriminate firing on the security personnel at Chungi No 26 in Rawalpindi”.

Resultantly, the report said, a ranger personnel sustained serious injuries and was shifted to Rawalpindi Combined Military Hospital in critical condition.

PTI claims 2 killed as protesters shot at ‘by Rangers’

On the other hand, the PTI on Tuesday claimed that “paramilitary Rangers shot live ammunition” at its protesters in Islamabad, resulting in the death of two and injuring another four.

“Participants claim they saw at least six people being shot, two of whom died on the spot and four were taken to hospital,” the party said on X.

In a separate post, the party claimed that the “unarmed” party workers were under intense tear gas shelling by law enforcement agencies.

The “fake” government is willing to go to any extent to maintain its illegal occupation, the party said.

It added that the government, through its use of state institutions against its own people, was “not only inciting hatred among Pakistanis but also becoming the cause of Pakistan’s disgrace in front of the world”.

PM Shehbaz condemns ‘attack under guise of protest’

PM Shehbaz also condemned the “attack by protesters” as state media reported that four Rangers personnel and two cops were left dead as a vehicle “rammed” into them.

In his statement, PM Shehbaz said the “attack” was carried out “using a vehicle on Srinagar Highway. He directed that those involved in the incident be identified immediately and brought to justice.

The premier also ordered that the best possible medical facilities be provided to the Rangers and police personnel “injured in the attack”.

He said that “attacks on police and Rangers, under the guise of a so-called peaceful protest”, were condemnable.

PM Shehbaz noted that police and Rangers were assigned to maintain law and order in Islamabad, asserting, in an apparent reference to the PTI, that an “anarchist group seeks bloodshed”.

He emphasised that this was not a peaceful protest, but extremism.

The prime minister said Pakistan cannot afford any form of chaos or bloodshed. “Bloodshed for nefarious political agenda is unacceptable and highly condemnable.”

Interior minister Naqvi also vowed to hold the miscreants involved to account, reaffirming his support for the families of the deceased.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari condemned the incident as well, terming it “outright terrorism” and calling for the suspects involved to be brought to justice.

“The Rangers and police personnel who embraced martyrdom were brave sons of the nation,” he said in a statement.

“The PPP’s stance about the right to peaceful protest [compared to] mischief and terrorism is clear,” the PPP chief said.

Army called in Islamabad: state media

Meanwhile, as tensions between PTI protesters and the government heightened, the Pakistan Army was called into Islamabad on Tuesday to “deal with miscreants”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

“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 stated.

“Clear orders have also been issued to shoot miscreants and troublemakers on sight,” it added.

Citing security sources, the report said all necessary measures were being taken to “counter terrorist activities by disruptive and extremist elements”.

While the Associated Press of Pakistan reported the same citing security sources, it is not confirmed whether a notification for the requisition has been issued so far.

Dawn.com has reached out to the interior ministry for a comment.

A Dawn.com correspondent also reported seeing troops of the Pakistan Army deployed at D-Chowk.

Interior Minister Naqvi hinted at the move yesterday, stating that the government would deal with violent protesters with an iron hand.

He warned that he would not hesitate to impose a curfew or invoke Article 245, which empowered the government to call armed forces for security purposes.

Arrests on the road to protest

The PTI’s protest, which the government is determined to foil with force, was originally scheduled to be staged on November 24.

However, the party’s convoys took a breather on Sunday night as PTI leaders said they were in “no hurry” to reach the federal capital for their ‘do or die’ protest.

The PTI protesters, some of them employing industrial fans to counter tear gas, crossed Islamabad’s Toll Plaza on Monday night as the government vowed to not spare those behind a cop’s death in “violence of miscreants”.

As PTI workers from across the country attempted to defy arrests, baton charges and tear gas to participate in the agitation, around 800 PTI leaders and supporters were arrested from across Punjab as well as in and near Islamabad on Sunday.

In an update, capital police officials told Dawn that during the ongoing protests, over 500 local PTI leaders and workers have been arrested in Islamabad.

Anticipating more arrests, the Islamabad administration declared the Crime Intelligence Agency’s building in the federal capital as a sub-jail to detain PTI leaders and workers.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that PTI’s planned protest is unlawful and directed the federal government to take all necessary measures to maintain law and order in Islamabad without disrupting public life, particularly as the Belarusian president’s arrival coincided with the protest.

More to follow