ISLAMABAD: In the early hours of Wednesday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) announced the temporary suspension of its high-stakes protest sit-in in Islamabad. This decision followed a day of violent clashes in the Red Zone, culminating in a late-night retreat by party leadership amid heavy teargas shelling by security forces to disperse protesters approaching the heavily barricaded D-Chowk.
The retreat, led by PTI figures including Bushra Bibi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, occurred after Gandapur was heard advising supporters to “go home, have dinner, and return tomorrow.”
In a press release shared on the party’s official X account early Wednesday, the PTI cited “government brutality” and an alleged plan to “turn the capital into a slaughterhouse for unarmed citizens” as reasons for the suspension of its “peaceful protest.”
The statement added that the party’s next steps would be announced after consulting its incarcerated founder, Imran Khan, once the political and core committees presented their analyses of the situation.
The PTI strongly condemned the alleged “killing” of its workers and accused the government of unleashing “terror and brutality against peaceful protesters.” It appealed to Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi to take suo motu notice of the “brutal murders” of party workers and demanded legal action against the prime minister, interior minister, and police chiefs of Islamabad and Punjab for their alleged involvement.
Separately, Bushra Bibi, CM Gandapur, and National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan are scheduled to address an emergency press conference at 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
According to Taimur Saleem Swati, senior vice president of PTI’s Hazara chapter, the event will take place at the residence of KP Speaker Babar Saleem Swati in Peshawar.
The clashes on Tuesday resulted in at least two fatalities and over 60 injuries as PTI supporters faced off with security forces across the federal capital. Both sides deployed tear gas and rubber bullets in the confrontations.
The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) confirmed the deaths of two civilians and reported injuries to around 60 individuals, including security personnel. Three injured policemen and ten civilians were also shifted to Polyclinic Hospital for treatment.
