Pakistan: Clashes Erupt During Imran Khan's 'Azadi March', Several PTI Leaders Arrested
Pakistan Clashes: The call for the Azadi March was given by former prime minister Imran Khan demanding the removal of the government and immediate general elections.
New Delhi: Clashes erupted in Pakistan on Wednesday between workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and police as former prime minister Imran Khan flagged off his party's "Azadi March" towards Islamabad. Several PTI leaders were arrested during the march to demand the removal of the government and immediate general elections, ANI reported.
PTI leaders Ali Asjad Malhi, Jamshed Cheema, Dr Yasmin Rashid and Andaleeb Abbas were arrested after they allegedly instigated the protesters to remove the shipping containers blocking routes to Islamabad. Police fired tear gas in several districts of Punjab, the country's largest province, to disperse the protesters, Dawn reported.
In Lahore too, police fired tear gas shells to disperse hundreds of PTI members who gathered at different points. The protesters retorted by pelting stones at the police personnel before scores of them were taken into custody, a report in Aljazeera said.
In a tweet, PTI claimed that the vehicle of its leader Dr Yasmin Rashid was attacked at Bati Chowk in Lahore.
Imran Khan, accompanied by hundreds of his supporters, was seen leading the march on a truck. Addressing his supporters at Swabi interchange in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Khan said the "thieves and the servants of America were ruling in Islamabad".
Imran Khan also urged the protesters to carry a Pakistani flag during the march, calling it a defining moment. "Would urge everyone to carry the Pakistan flag with them. This is a defining moment today for the Haqiqi Azaadi of Pakistan," he tweeted. Imran Khan has demanded dissolution of the National Assembly and a date for the next general election.
In view of the march, Section 144 was imposed in Lahore, the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and Karachi, as well as other major cities in the country.
Later in the day, there were reports that the Pakistan government had struck a deal with Khan to peacefully hold his party's "Azadi March" in Islamabad. However, Imran Khan rejected reports about any deal.
"Rumours and deliberate disinformation that a deal has been done. 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. Calling all people of Islamabad & Rawalpindi to join," the 69-year-old cricketer-turned politician tweeted.
Imran Khan was ousted from power last month through a no-trust vote. Khan has been claiming that the no-trust motion against him was the result of a foreign conspiracy. He has named the US as the country behind the conspiracy, a charge denied by Washington. Khan's PTI government was replaced by a coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
(With inputs from agencies)
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