Police and PTI workers clash in Swabi, several vehicles set ablaze
Police used tear gas shells against a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) convoy being led by Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervaiz Khattak to Islamabad for the party’s planned ‘lockdown’ of the capital on November 02.
Clashes between security personnel and PTI workers started right when the convoy was close to entering Punjab near the Swabi Interchange.
In Hazro, police started shelling upon the party’s workers, who retaliated by hurling stones at policemen.
Enraged protesters also set multiple vehicles and bushes in the area on fire in Hazro, Motorway.
Meanwhile, the government has also enforced measures to deal with PTI workers reaching Islamabad. Containers have been brought to Islamabad to seal the Red Zone.
PTI supporters dump tear gas shell during clashes with police as they matched towards the capital- Photo AFP
CM KP tells workers he will lead from front
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa told workers that if they fail to reach Islamabad today (Monday) they will reach tomorrow them. He asked party workers not to worry as he will be at the front, adding that the convoy will move forward removing all hurdles. Pervaiz Khattak said that workers will be at the back, following him.
Speaking to Geo News, Khattak said it was their democratic right to go to Islamabad and going back was not an option. "I will not move until the way is cleared," Khattak added.
Earlier, while addressing workers in Swabi, Khattak said oppressors had blocked roads. "I will lodge an FIR against Chaudhry Nisar, Shehbaz Sharif and Nawaz Sharif if my workers are harmed," the chief minister said.
"Show me the law which makes it legal to block roads," Khattak said.
The make-shift stage which KP CM Pervaiz Khattak was using to address a gathering of workers collapsed. The chief minister was not hurt during the incident. Video showed several party workers on stage with Khattak and the weight could not be supported.
The make-shift stage was built on top of a vehicle which is part of the chief minister’s convoy as heads to Islamabad.
Government is playing a dangerous game
Opposition leader in the National Assembly, Khursheed Shah said the government was playing a dangerous game by blocking the way from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Shah said this step by the government could cause great damage to the federation. The PPP leader also termed the arrest of parliamentarians as unlawful and demanded their immediate release.
Crane machine being used to place containers to block link road along Motorway-1 to stop PTI activists from entering Islamabad ahead of the party’s Nov 2 protest in the federal capital city- Photo Online
PTI workers will wreak havoc if allowed forward
Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said that if the PTI workers were allowed to proceed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Islamabad, they would wreak havoc.
"These are neither convoys nor public for whom the routes have been obstructed," he said while speaking to Geo News. Rafique added that since two days the Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervaiz Khattak has been delivering provocative speeches.
He said that CM KPK talked about locking down Islamabad, adding that PTI is giving the message of violence and unrest.
Shameful how CM under attack: Imran
PTI chairman Imran Khan tweeted that it was shameful how the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was under attack by the Punjab government. “Constitution is being violated shamelessly by Federal and Punjab governments.”
Imran added that despite the shelling by Punjab police, PTI workers and the chief minister were not using violence or the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police to show their commitment to peaceful protest. Khan further tweeted that Khattak and the convoy were being prevented violently from exercising their democratic right to travel to Bani Gala.
Police crackdown against PTI
Police has been rounding up PTI activists ahead of the Nov 2 Islamabad lockdown. Women activists of the party were also detained as they tried to reach Imran Khan's residence in Bani Gala.
Earlier on Monday, Imran Khan alleged that his party workers were being kidnapped and not arrested. “I demand that the Supreme Court take suo moto notice. These are abductions and not arrests. They are robbing people of their democratic rights,” Khan said at Bani Gala.
As of yesterday, Punjab police arrested workers across Punjab under 16 MPO (Punjab Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, 1960). The decision of arrests came after a meeting chaired by Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Amin Wains, sources had informed.
The Punjab government on Saturday imposed section 144 banning rallies and demonstrations across the province, which will be in force till November 8. Section 144 has also been imposed in Islamabad.
Policewomen arrest an activist of PTI near the house of PTI chief Imran Khan in Islamabad-Photo AFP
People rejected Imran’s politics of protest: Amir Muqam
Prime Minister’s Adviser Amir Muqam addressed a gathering in Swabi where he said that people have come to know about Imran Khan’s ulterior motives.
He said that people have rejected Imran’s politics of protest, adding that people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa want politics of development and progress.
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