Islamabad [Pakistan], October 5 : Clashes between police and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activists continued at Islamabad's D-Chowk on Saturday. Heavy rainfall diminished the impact of police tear gas, allowing a surge of protesters to advance towards D-Chowk, according to a report by the Express Tribune.
In response, police detained several activists from Jinnah Avenue.
Confrontations between protesters and police began early in the morning, marked by stone-throwing and retaliation from protesters in response to police actions. Organised in convoys, PTI protesters made their way to the protest site, leading to intermittent clashes with law enforcement.
Meanwhile, gusty winds reversed the effects of police tear gas at the D-Chowk, as the smoke from tear gas shells fired by police blew back onto law enforcement personnel, forcing them to retreat. Law enforcement personnel later returned to D-Chowk after the rain subsided, Dawn reported.
Notably, a convoy of 800 PTI activists from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) entered Rawalpindi, where enraged individuals set a crane and a motorcycle on fire at Chungi Number 26, the Express Tribune reported.
Meanwhile, the PTI also shared a video of its supporters thronging D-Chowk. Sharing a post on X, the party wrote, "Scenes of people arriving at D Chowk in large numbers. The idols of fear have been broken!"
https://x.com/PTIofficial/status/1842561420350878152
The party said its political committee decided that the protest would continue and demanded the immediate release of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
Sharing a post on X, the party wrote, "Important announcement: The political committee of Tehreek-e-Insaf has decided that the protest will continue and has demanded that the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, who is currently in custody, should be released immediately, we stand by our demands!"