Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has returned back to Peshawar as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) failed to formally stage protest at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh amid clashes with the police.
The Punjab government has 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.
PTI had initially planned to hold a public rally at Liaquat Bagh, but shifted the event to a demonstration following directives from PTI founder Imran Khan.
It also withdrawn its application seeking a no-objection certificate (NOC) to hold a rally from the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench.
Earlier in the day, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Salman Akram Raja were also detained in their way to Rawalpindi near Sector H-13 only to be released shortly.
In a statement, 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. “They [law enforcers] took both the leaders in a van.”
Several areas of the Rawalpindi became battleground with the police firing tear gas at the PTI workers and supporters, including women, who gathered to stage the demonstration following the directives of Imran Khan.
