Pakistan’s ex-PM denies deal with govt, will rally in Islamabad until elections announced

ISLAMABAD: Clashes between anti-government protesters and police continued in major Pakistani cities on Wednesday as former prime minister Imran Khan set out to the capital for a demonstration he hopes will bring down the government and force early elections, denying reports of a deal with the administration and saying that he would rally until fresh polls were called.
Khan was removed from office in a vote of no-confidence last month after losing his majority in parliament. The former premier has alleged his ouster was part of a Washington-backed foreign conspiracy and refused to recognize the new government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The US has denied the allegations.
Since his ouster, Khan has held public rallies across Pakistan to demand early elections. Last Sunday he announced that he would lead a massive rally to the capital and hold a sit-in until the government announced a date for polls. The government on Tuesday said it would not let Khan’s march enter Islamabad on the grounds that it aimed to spread “chaos and anarchy” in the country.
After media reports that Khan’s party had reached an agreement with the government, Khan posted “absolutely not” on Twitter.
He said: “We are moving toward Islamabad and no question of any deal. We will remain in Islamabad until announcement of dates for the dissolution of assemblies and elections are given.
“God willing we have to reach D-Chowk Islamabad. No hurdle can stop us,” Khan said in an address to supporters in Swabi en route to the capital. He was referring to a famous town square in the capital that has been a common destination for protest marches.
On Wednesday morning and well into the afternoon, the D-Chowk area wore a deserted look, sealed off with containers and guarded by a large contingent of Punjab and Islamabad Police.
At one point, about 20 PTI supporters appeared and chanted in favor of Khan but were chased off by police, batons in hand.
After brief negotiations, the protesters dispersed and the police officers sat under some trees to eat lunch. Other officers were immersed in their cell phones, following the latest developments and asking media correspondents present for inputs.
One woman, a PTI supporter, walked up to a small group of officers and said that she would return in the evening to join the protest.
“You won’t fire at us, will you?” She asked jokingly. The police officers smiled and said no.
Videos circulating on social media and local TV channels showed police clashing with protesters in Lahore and Islamabad, with Punjab police using tear gas on demonstrators in Lahore and baton charging them in the capital.
PTI supporters and police also clashed in Gujranwala when the officers tried to stop protesters with barricades but marchers forced their way through the obstructions.
According to PTI’s Gujranwala General Secretary Tariq Gujjar, 150 people from the caravan had been taken into custody.
All major roads linking the Punjab province with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, from where Khan started his march, were blocked with barricades. Police and district officials blocked the GT Road highway with shipping containers over the Attock Khurd Bridge, which marks the border between Punjab and KP. Media reported intense tear gas shelling on the bridge by anti-riot police in the afternoon on Wednesday.
The motorway M1 connecting the two provinces was also blocked off and other motorways traversing Punjab, including M2, were blocked at several points.
Section 144, which bans large public gatherings, was imposed on Tuesday in Lahore, the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, and in Karachi, as well as other major cities in the country, while the Punjab government called in the paramilitary Rangers to keep law and order. Pakistani authorities also used dozens of shipping containers and trucks to block off major roads into the capital.
Former education minister Shafqat Mahmood from Khan’s PTI said on Twitter that police raided his house in the early morning hours of Wednesday.
“Police barged into my house without a warrant while I was not there. Do they really think these tactics would intimidate us?”
Meanwhile, PTI Sen. Ejaz Chaudhary was arrested after the Punjab government said that weapons were recovered from the vehicles of PTI’s Lahore office bearers.
An admin for Chaudhary’s account tweeted: “The place he was staying was stormed by over 100 policemen — the gate of the house broken — the family at that place harassed and phones taken. This will not dampen our spirit.”
A number of other PTI office bearers were also arrested.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is hearing on Wednesday a hurriedly moved petition seeking the removal of roadblocks and barricades, and the free movement of residents in the federal capital. The court asked Khan’s party and the government to agree on an alternate location to D-Chowk and inform the court. It has also ordered the government to remove all blockades and release arrested PTI supporters.