Current Final

Category: Politics

  • PTI Azadi March: SC says Khan did not commit contempt of court

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on Thursday disposed off the federal government’s contempt of court plea against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan over his violation of the apex court’s orders during PTI’s ‘Azadi March’.

    The government had filed the plea this morning after the PTI went against the SC’s orders, announcing to hold a rally at D-Chowk in Islamabad. A five-member larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, was present at the court.

    “We will issue the verdict in the case which will serve as an example in the future,” CJP remarked, adding, “Don’t forget that this party [PTI] has held several rallies.”

    At this, Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf maintained that strict security was provided to all PTI rallies since the dismissal of the party’s government.

    “Whatever happened yesterday was unfortunate. It shattered SC’s trust in political parties,” CJP Bandial remarked, adding that the court doesn’t want to continue hearing the case.

    Bandial said that the court “going beyond its authority, had given orders for the security of people […] directed the political parties to hold negotiations”.

    The attorney general then requested the court’s permission to play a video recording of Khan’s address to his supporters, which was granted.

    AGP Ausaf argued that Khan told his supporters the SC had granted permission to protest at D-Chowk. The chief justice questioned what happened after the PTI chairman’s statement.

    “Imran then asked his workers to reach D-Chowk,” Ausaf replied.

    “It is possible that the message was not delivered to Imran Khan properly,” CJP Bandial remarked. “The entire issue is [related to] a conflict. Judicial proceedings cannot be based on assumptions.”

    The attorney general argued that the PTI was granted permission to protest after assurances that the Azadi March would be peaceful.

    During the hearing, the CJP inquired about the number of people injured yesterday. At this, the AGP informed that 31 police officials were injured.

    “Citizens would also have been wounded. The crowd was highly charged,” CJP Bandial said, adding that only the PTI leadership could have controlled the situation.

    He said that PTI should understand its responsibility toward citizens. The party should have become an example, he added.

    SC directs govt to provide PTI with ground between H-9, G-9 areas to hold jalsa

    The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) on Wednesday directed the federal government to provide the PTI with the ground between the H-9 and G-9 areas of Islamabad to hold its public gathering.

    The directives came during a hearing of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association’s (IHCBA) plea against the government’s decision to block roads to stop PTI’s “Azadi March” in the federal capital.

    A three-member bench of the SC, headed by Justice Ahsan, was hearing the plea. Islamabad chief commissioner and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Akbar Nasir Khan appeared before the court during the hearing.

    Today’s hearing saw two breaks before the apex court issued the final order of providing the space to the PTI for the jalsa.  

    When the hearing resumed after the second break, the Attorney-General for Pakistan (AGP) Ashtar Ausaf Ali told the three-member bench that the ground, which will be given to the PTI, only had the capacity to accommodate 10,000 people. 

    During the hearing, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan asked PTI’s lawyer Babar Awan when the gathering will be held.

    “Till when will the gathering go on for?” asked Justice Ahsan. To this Awan, replied that the decision is for the political leadership to take.

    In response, Justice Ahsan remarked that the apex court can change its order, amend or take it back. He added that the bench will be monitoring the developments.

    “Talks between the government committee and PTI committee should be held at 10pm tonight at the chief commissioner’s office,” said the court. It directed the deputy commissioner, interior secretary, and inspector-general Islamabad to make sure the meeting take place.

    “Arrested political leadership and workers should be freed at once,” said the court. It also ordered the government to follow the point agreed between the JUI-F and PTI during the former’s 2019 long march.

    “Any new clause should be included in the agreement through mutual consultation and the court should also be informed about it,” said the bench.

    Before the break, the court had directed the authorities concerned to hold consultations over permission for the PTI rally on H9 ground and update the court on the outcome. The bench then adjourned the hearing of the case till 9:30am tomorrow. 

    SC orders provision of alternative venue for PTI rally

    Earlier the court ordered the authorities concerned to provide an alternative venue to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for Azadi March.

    The court directed the authorities concerned to hold consultations over permission for the PTI rally on H9 ground and update the court on the outcome.

    The directive came during a hearing of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association’s (IHCBA) plea against the government’s decision to block roads to stop PTI’s ‘Azadi March’. A three-member bench of the SC, headed by Justice Ahsan, was hearing the plea. Islamabad chief commissioner and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Akbar Nasir Khan appeared before the court during the hearing.

    Justice Ijazul Ahsan directed the Islamabad chief commissioner to prepare a traffic plan for the PTI rally and submit a report after compliance with orders by 2:30pm.

    “Let them protest and then go home,” Justice Ahsan said. “We expect the government to remove barricades.”

    He also directed PTI’s lawyer Faisal Chaudhry to “sit at the negotiating table” with the administration officials and gave him time to get instructions from the party leadership in this regard. The court also directed authorities to provide complete protection to PTI leaders for the negotiations.

    “If the PTI fears arrests, it should provide us with a list. We will protect those who fear arrests,” Justice Ahsan said.

    Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf told the SC that the government did not allow the PTI to hold its Azadi March on Islamabad’s Srinagar Highway because there was a “threat” to Khan’s life according to reports from security agencies.

    “The permission to gather at Srinagar Highway was denied due to the security situation. Imran Khan’s life is in danger as per reports of security agencies. Security agencies have raised fears of a suicide attack on the former prime minister.”

    The administration should present a complete plan of action which allows the protest, but keeps roads open so that the protesters can reach peacefully and go back home afterward,” Justice Ahsan said.

    The judge sought assurance from the authorities that there won’t be any violence and that roads will not be closed. Moreover, the court directed PTI’s counsel to give names if the party fears arrest.

    Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi remarked that the Islamabad IGP and Interior secretary should review their policies.

    The judge warned the IGP to understand his responsibilities and fulfill them. “You have been appointed four days ago. Stay within your limits as you already have enough burden of cases and allegations,” Justice Naqvi said.

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday ordered police and the administration to stop harassing PTI leaders and workers following a crackdown by the Punjab Police last night.

    The court then asked PTI’s lawyer if he could provide an affidavit stating that no incident would take place during the sit-in and that the counsel would be responsible if an unfortunate incident occurred.

    “If you cannot provide an affidavit then how can the court issue a general order?” the judge asked.

  • Fact Check: Did the federal government shut down the internet?

    Fact Check: Did the federal government shut down the internet?

    Claim: Internet was shut down for people in various parts of Pakistan in order to suppress the coverage of Imran Khan’s PTI rallies

    Fact: The internet was not shut down but there is evidence of internet ‘throttling’ by internet service providers throughout the country

    On May 25, several social media users took to Twitter to condemn the government’s “draconian” decision to shut down the internet. Popular personalities came out on Twitter, with their verified accounts with millions of followers and announced that the federal government has decided to shut down the internet, in light of the escalating tensions in Islamabad and to avoid social media coverage of Imran Khan’s rally.

    Internet throttling is when your internet service providers limit the speed or bandwidth of your internet without taking your consent or informing you. In some cases, throttling also helps manage an unusual amount of traffic on the internet in order to equally distribute the bandwidth.

    However, this is false.

    Several people also tweeted that they had internet services available. However, everyone noted varying speeds at different times in the day. At The Current Check‘s office, we faced internet slowdowns throughout the day, but it was never shutdown.

    Hija Kamran, digital rights advocate working at Media Matters for Democracy, tweeted asking people in Pakistan to confirm whether their internet is working fine and several people reported operational internet in Karachi and Islamabad, others claimed that they were facing issues in internet speed.

    An internet observatory organization called Net Blocks released a report on the same day confirming “disruptions” in the internet across Pakistan. However, according to their report these disruptions only lasted for two hours within the whole day, which does not even come close to the claim that the internet was shut down.

    In their report, NetBlocks confirms that disruptions were faced by multiple internet service providers across Paksitan after 5pm on Wednesday, May 25. The service was restored within two hours, following the surge in complaints being posted on social media about the internet being throttled by ISPs across the country.

    NetBlocks used “diffscans”, a tool which allowed them to map the IP address space of Pakistan in real time and display corresponding internet connectivity levels and outages, which are represented in the graph attached in their tweet.

    Verdict: FALSE

  • ‘Sir thora sa Islami touch bhi de dein’: PTI’s Suri instructs Khan during speech

    ‘Sir thora sa Islami touch bhi de dein’: PTI’s Suri instructs Khan during speech

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Qasim Suri instructed PTI Chairman Imran Khan to use the ‘Islamic touch’ in his speech during the party’s Azadi March towards the federal capital.

    Suri can be seen standing next to Khan along with other party members.

    He said, “Sir thora sa Islami touch bhi de dein.” [Sir give some Islamic touch to your speech.]

    Khan immediately acted in accordance with Suri’s words and said, “I am a follower of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).”

    Khan addressed the protesters at Islamabad’s 9th Avenue and gave a six-day deadline to the government for announcing elections and dissolving assemblies.

    “I had decided that I will sit here until the government dissolves assemblies and announces elections, but of what I have seen in the past 24 hours, they (govt) are taking the nation towards anarchy,” he said, claiming that the government was also trying to create a divide between the nation and the police.

  • IMF programme will only revive if Govt hikes fuel, electricity prices

    IMF programme will only revive if Govt hikes fuel, electricity prices

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated unequivocally that the loan programme under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will not be revived unless oil and electricity prices are increased. The Pakistani delegation, on the other hand, has asked for more time to withdraw the subsidy.

    The delegation would meet with Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif to discuss it. Both parties have agreed to continue discussions. Apart from the withdrawal of the subsidy, officials claim that all other issues have been resolved.

    Pakistan was unable to persuade the IMF despite a week of discussions in Doha, Qatar, from May 18 to May 25.

    IMF postponed the rollback of Pakistan’s stalled $6 billion External Financing Facility (EFF) programme late Wednesday as the government hoped that the revival would bring stability to the financial markets, the rapid weakening of the local currency with depleting foreign exchange reserves.

    In a statement, the Fund underlined the elimination of petroleum and energy subsidies, among other conditions, as a prerequisite for the program’s restoration. Following the conclusion of the talks, Nathan Porter, the IMF Mission Chief for Pakistan, stated that the Fund held meaningful talks with Pakistani representatives.

    “The Mission has engaged in highly constructive discussions with Pakistani authorities in order to reach an agreement on policies and reforms that will lead to the completion of the awaiting seventh evaluation of the authorities’ reform programme, which is backed by an IMF Extended Fund Facility arrangement”.

    As per Porter, significant progress was made during the mission, including the need to continue addressing massive inflation and rising fiscal and current account shortfalls, whereas ensuring sufficient protection for the weakest.

    The Fund also lauded the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) decision to raise the policy rate from 12.25 per cent to 13.75 per cent in order to combat rising inflation. However, the mission chief noted that there were fiscal deviations from the policies agreed upon in the previous review, reflecting in part the fuel and power subsidies announced by the authorities in February.

    The PTI-led government initially concurred to increasing the prices of energy and petroleum products, but Imran Khan announced a subsidy on both commodities later in March, and the present government is proceeding with the same arrangement.

    As per Porter, the IMF team highlighted the importance of tangible policy actions, including the removal of fuel and energy subsidies and the FY2023 budget, to achieve programme objectives. He went on to say that the IMF team is looking forward to proceeding with its discussion and close engagement with the Pakistani government on policies to ensure price stability for the benefit of all Pakistanis.

  • PTI Azadi March: Khan leaves D-Chowk, says will come back in 6 days if no election announced

    PTI Azadi March: Khan leaves D-Chowk, says will come back in 6 days if no election announced

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan addressed the protesters at Islamabad’s 9th Avenue and gave a six-day deadline to the government for announcing elections and dissolving assemblies.

    “I had decided that I will sit here until the government dissolves assemblies and announces elections, but of what I have seen in the past 24 hours, they (govt) are taking the nation towards anarchy,” he said, claiming that the government was also trying to create a divide between the nation and the police.

    “The government tried every method to crush our Azadi March. They used teargas on peaceful protests, our homes were raided and our privacy was violated. However, I have seen the nation free itself of [the] fear of slavery,” said Khan addressing his caravan.

    He claimed that five PTI protesters were killed in clashes after the PTI’s march, saying that one had fallen off the Attock bridge amid tear-gas shelling and the other was pushed into Ravi river. He said he had also received information that three were killed in Karachi.

    Addressing the Supreme Court (SC), he asked, “What crime were we committing?”

    He said he “wants justice for the people of Pakistan from Supreme Court judges and the lawyers’ community”.

    “I am again asking the judiciary to save your FIA (Federal Investigation Agency). In the future, no FIA officer will investigate the powerful if he will meet the same end as Dr Rizwan and Asghar,” he added. Imran said peaceful protest was the right of every Pakistani and no one “gives you [the government] to treat the people in the manner that you treated them”.

    People have completely rejected the riot: Sanaullah

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, meanwhile, said the people “have completely rejected the riots”. In a statement posted on PML-N’s official Twitter account, Sanaullah was quoted as saying he had been personally monitoring the security situation.

    “Imran Niazi entered the city after getting permission from the Supreme Court to hold a rally at a designated place in Islamabad and broke his promise by announcing plans to go to D-Chowk.”

    Read more: PTI Azadi March: Imran sets out to lead party caravan, tensions escalate

    Army summoned to control the situation

    As the situation turned chaotic in Islamabad after Khan and his convoy entered the federal capital and started marching towards the city’s D-Chowk, the government decided to seek the help of the army to control the situation and protect the government’s offices located in the Red Zone.

    The government, in a notification, said that the army was summoned to control the situation under Article 245 of the Constitution.

    PTI, govt negotiations fail

    Following the Supreme Court’s order for the government and the PTI to hold negotiations in a bid to control the situation at 10pm Wednesday, the government’s team headed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ayaz Sadiq, reached the commissioner’s office in Islamabad but the PTI team, led by Bawar Awan, returned without holding the talks due to the late arrival of the government’s team.

    Sadiq said it was decided to meet at 10pm but “due to the closure of roads, the government’s team reached the Islamabad commissioner’s office 25 minutes late”.

    “We were gathered here on SC’s orders but now leaving as a sign of protest,” he told journalists. The PML-N leader added that the purpose of the dialogue was to select a place and set a guideline for PTI’s protest.

    “Following the court’s order, we have removed obstacles but the city was set on fire,” he added. “The chief commissioner had been continuously calling the PTI team but they were not responsive. However, we will wait here a little longer for them.”

    SC directs govt to provide PTI with ground between H-9, G-9 areas to hold jalsa

    The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the federal government to provide the PTI with a ground between the H-9 and G-9 areas of Islamabad to hold its public gathering.

  • Kashmir freedom fighter Yasin Malik sentenced to life imprisonment

    Kashmir freedom fighter Yasin Malik sentenced to life imprisonment

    Mohammed Yasin Malik, 54, founder of the organization Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front who was accused and charged with participating in alleged ‘acts of terrorism, illegally raising funds, being a member of a “terrorist organization”, terrorism financing, criminal conspiracy and sedition’, has now been sentenced to life in imprisonment.

    On 19 March, Judge Praveen Singh set May 25 as the date for hearing arguments from both sides and sentencing. She also directed Malik to provide an affidavit regarding his financial assets. JKLF reports that while in court, Malik said, “Terrorism-related charges leveled against me are concocted, fabricated and politically motivated.”

    The case is based on events from the 1990s when Malik and his associates were charged with the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed in 1989 and the killing of four Indian Air Force officers in 1990.

    Malik’s wife Mushaal Malik also appeared in a press conference in Islamabad, alongside PML-N’s Marriyum Aurangzeb. She spoke of the severely unjust treatment that the Indian government is subjecting on her husband, absolutely restricting the family from communicating with him and taking away his right to a free and fair trial. She demanded that her husband’s case be tried in the International Court of Justice and requested the United Nations to take action and establish an inquiry into this case.

    On Monday, the Pakistani Senate passed an unanimous resolution condemning the case against Hurriyat leader and expressing solidarity with his family. The resolution was tabled by former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

    Cases against Yasin Malik

    Malik, who has been kept under arrest at New Delhi’s Tihar Jail was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in April 2019, when he was already in jail for violating the Indian Public Safety Act, according to which one can be jailed for an entire year without any trial.

    Malik, along with seven others, is charged with killing four Indian Air Force officers in 1990. However, their counsel has argued that since the group announced a unilateral ceasefire in 1994, the charge is not true.

    Secondly, Malik is accused of abducting the then federal home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s daughter, Rubaiya Sayeed in 1989. Both of these cases have been presented in courts by the NIA under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act [TADA].

    Unfair trial

    Despite there being no cases or new charges against Malik and his group throughout the BJP government, the court is now rushing through to reach sentencing in the trial.

    In his open letter from prison, Malik wrote, “Though I have every legal right to be presented physically before the court, but the judge and the CBI at the behest of government are not allowing me to present myself before the trial court physically. I am being presented through video conference, where neither I am able to hear the arguments of the lawyers nor am I being allowed to speak.”

    Commenting on the speed with which the case is being tried, Malik’s lawyer Tufail Raja told Al Jazeera, “When you reopen a 30-year-old case and pursue it at a fast pace in a bid to hastily produce judgement, you can understand the intentions of this government.” He added “This is a political rather than a judicial move.” 

    The verdict

    Leading up to the announcement of the verdict, people had started coming out on the streets in Kashmir, on either side of the issue – in his support as well as those against him. The court also imposed various fines including a 5,000 INR and a 10,000 INR fine on Yasin Malik, along with two life imprisonment sentences, which will both run simultaneously.

    DG ISPR and wife Mushaal Malik have vehemently condemned this decision on Twitter and held up Kashmir’s right to self determination.

  • Man alleges PTI hired him to create fake Twitter accounts of retired army officers

    Man alleges PTI hired him to create fake Twitter accounts of retired army officers

    Sadaqat Hussain, a resident of Sargodha has been arrested for allegedly creating fake Twitter accounts of retired army officers.

    According to The News, social accounts were made to ‘create differences among the army officers on a political basis’.

    In a video confession, Hussain admitted his crime and said that he has been running his Twitter account for almost seven years.

    According to Hussain, PTI’s Sardar Shahzad Ahmed Khan Maken approached him, after which Hussain was hired by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) social media team in Tehsil Shahpur.

    Hussain further revealed that the PTI Canada chapter’s information secretary Talat Kashif trained him about social media trends.

    He admitted that he created fake accounts with the names of Maj Gen (R) Muhammad Asghar, Maj Gen Faisal Mushtaq, and others.

    Recently, fake voice clips of General (retd) Haroon Aslam and General (retd) Mirza Aslam Beg were spread on social media.

  • Elections for 20 de-seated Punjab Assembly seats to be held on July 17: ECP

    Elections for 20 de-seated Punjab Assembly seats to be held on July 17: ECP

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announced on Wednesday that the by-polls on the 20 vacant seats of the Punjab Assembly will be held on July 17.

    The date for the by-elections comes after the ECP on Monday de-notified the 25 PTI MPAs that it had de-seated over defection from the party for voting in favour of Hamza Shehbaz in the chief minister election. The decision to de-seat the 25 PTI dissidents came during the announcement of the verdict in a case pertaining to the dissident Members of the Punjab Assembly (MPAs).

    The ECP had issued official notifications for the cancellation of the dissidents’ election from respective constituencies of Punjab and seats reserved for women and non-Muslims.

    “Pursuant to the Order dated the 20 May 2022 passed by the Election Commission of Pakistan in case No. 13(1)/2022-Law, upon confirmation of the declarations under Article 63A(1)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Election Commission of Pakistan hereby de-notify the following member’s Provincial Assembly of Punjab from the respective Constituencies, seats reserved for women, and non-Muslims in terms of Article 63A(4) of the Constitution,” the notification said.

  • Senior journalist Talat Aslam passes away

    Senior journalist Talat Aslam passes away

    Veteran journalist and senior editor of the English Daily The News International, Talat Aslam passed away on Wednesday at the age of 67.

    In his final few tweets, he talked about ARY News channel being pushed back. He urged the government to not do what its predecessor did to the media.

    Aslam was a veteran journalist with a career spanning many publications, including Herald and The News.

    Following the news of Aslam’s death, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif expressed deep sorrow over the death of senior journalist and paid tribute to him.

    Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman tweeted: “Burst with grief upon hearing that old friend, Aslam just passed away. He was the kindest, funniest, wittiest, warmest soul in the whole world.”

    Several journalists also came forward to express their condolences.

  • PTI Azadi March: Imran sets out to lead party caravan, tensions escalate

    PTI Azadi March: Imran sets out to lead party caravan, tensions escalate

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Azadi March began on Wednesday, tensions rose across the country as police made use of tear gas and arrested several PTI marchers headed toward Islamabad.

    Khan’s message for PTI supporters

    PTI Chairperson Imran Khan called on his supporters to join his freedom march.

    In a video message, Khan said, “I will lead the Azadi March caravan from Peshawar, and God willing, we will head to Islamabad from there. I want each and everyone to leave because this is a defining moment.”

    Khan waves to supporters from a truck

    Imran Khan arrived at the Wali Interchange in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by helicopter.

    Khan, later, departed for Islamabad from the Wali Interchange in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    ‘Defining moment’ for Pakistan

    Imran also urged protesters to carry the Pakistani flag, calling today a “defining moment” for Pakistan.

    ‘No blockade can stop us’

    After reaching Swabi, Khan delivered a speech to supporters. In it, he said that “we are going to D-Chowk and no one can stop us” as the crowd cheered.

    Khan said that the PTI government did not bar any of them from staging protests as they “did not fear the people”.

    He said that the government was afraid as they had been plundering national wealth for the past 30 years. “I want to give the people a message from Swabi Interchange: whatever you do, we will cross all obstacles and reach D-Chowk. Our protest will be peaceful as it has always been.”

    “I want to give the people a message from Swabi Interchange: whatever you do, we will cross all obstacles and reach D-Chowk. Our protest will be peaceful as it has always been.”

     “This nation does not accept this imported government,” he declared, calling on the people to come out for what he has described of late as a “jihad” for “true freedom”.

    “All Pakistanis, women, children, families, youth, lawyers, retired army officers, everyone has to come out for real independence,” he said.

    No agreement has been reached

    Following the directions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the two sides have agreed on PTI holding a jalsa instead of a long march, Geo News reported. Talks between the government and PTI continued for two-and-half hours.

    Khan in relevance to the news tweeted, “Absolutely not! We are moving towards Islamabad & no question of any deal. We will remain in Islamabad till announcement of dates for dissolution of assemblies & elections are given.”

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb also said that no agreement has been reached between the federal government and PTI. She said news of negotiations and an agreement between the government and PTI is “baseless”.

    Detention expected of Khan

    The government has decided to detain PTI Chairman Imran Khan with the top party leadership on its way to Islamabad from Peshawar today for the Azadi March, reports The News.

    Rangers deployed in Islamabad

    On Tuesday, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah announced that the federal government will not allow any riots in the name of the PTI long march. Section 144 has been imposed in Lahore, Karachi and the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi and the roads leading up to the capital city from different parts of the country have been blocked. Rangers have been called in by the government to help protect Islamabad’s, Red Zone.

    https://twitter.com/RashidK10425837/status/1529329373781934081?s=20&t=BqLkjo0MNs35Ix8fAEpfsg
    PTI workers clash with police at Lahore’s Batti Chowk

    PTI workers marching towards Islamabad from Lahore engaged in a clash with the police at Batti Chowk in Lahore as they tried to remove the barricades on the roads. Policemen stopped PTI supporters from moving forward and used tear gas.

    According to PTI’s official Twitter account, the marchers were also stopped at the Shahdara area.

    Dr Yasmin Rashid’s car attacked by police

    PTI supporters came forward and verbally abused the police officials. Meanwhile, Dr Yasmin Rashid tried stopping the police from taking away her car keys.

    Hammad Azhar tried to be arrested

    PTI leader Hammad Azhar tweeted, the impediments and containers on Bati Chowk, Ravi Bridge, and Shahdara have been removed and the roads have been cleared by “the public”.

    https://twitter.com/azammaalik/status/1529380891247755266?s=20&t=38SnfKGvZmlJ1vwGCvqC0w
    Weapons and ammunition recovered

    Meanwhile, police said that they have recovered heavy ammunition and weapons from the residences of PTI leaders Bijash Niazi and Zubair Niazi.

    DIG Operations Sohail Chauhdry in a press conference shared that the raids were conducted at Nawan Kot and Multan Road areas from where three persons were arrested. However, Zubair Niazi fled from the scene. Giving details of the arms recovered, the police officer said that six 223 bore guns, 13 rifles, 96 SMG rifles, and 26 magazines of pistols were found.