PTI Protest in Pakistan Met with Bloody Police Crackdown

The situation in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has taken a turn towards civil conflict as state forces used indiscriminate force against protesters opposing the imposition of unconstitutional governor’s rule and an emergency. In Bara tehsil of Khyber district, the area turned into a battlefield after police and joint security forces fired live ammunition and repeatedly launched tear gas shells to disperse a peaceful mass protest called by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

According to media reports, at least one protester was killed in police firing, while many passers-by and party activists, including two children, were shot and injured. In response, an angry crowd set fire to the regional office of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and allegedly held at least 15 police personnel hostage along with their weapons, according to the local administration.

Local sources said thousands of PTI supporters gathered at the historic Khyber Chowk in Bara Bazaar to protest governor’s rule and the arrest of senior party leaders. Police attempted to disperse the protesters through sudden baton charges and repeated volleys of tear gas. However, when a large additional crowd entered Khyber Chowk under the leadership of local PTI provincial assembly members (MPAs) Abdul Ghani Afridi and Iqbal Afridi, police were forced to retreat. At one point, as angry protesters gave chase, police personnel took shelter in local shops and administrative buildings.

As the clashes intensified, the crowd set fire to the NADRA building and vandalised the office of the emergency response service Rescue 1122 by throwing bricks and stones. District Police Officer Waqar Ahmed said around 15 police personnel who had taken shelter inside the tehsil municipal office were surrounded, disarmed, stripped of their uniforms and held hostage. Security forces again resorted to indiscriminate firing to bring the situation under control, resulting in casualties.
Following the clashes, all commercial activities in Bara Bazaar came to a halt, while traffic on major roads was completely disrupted.

PTI leaders alleged that, with the backing of the central government, the police had directly fired on unarmed protesters, engaging in what they described as a heinous campaign of mass killing and intimidation. The governor’s administration, meanwhile, said anti-state activities, including attacks on government buildings and the taking of law enforcement personnel hostage, would be dealt with firmly.

Political and geopolitical analysts, however, believe that the reckless policy of imposing rule through bullets while denying people their political mandate in tribal border regions is pushing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa towards an inevitable and prolonged armed insurgency.

Source: Dawn Online