Security personnel reportedly sprang into action during a standoff in negotiations between the government and the opposition party, resulting in heavy tear gas shelling when a number of PTI protestors arrived at Islamabad’s D-Chowk.
The interior ministry claimed that at least four security officials were killed in what Prime ministry Shehbaz Sharif described as a “protester attack.”
The event occurs as PTI convoys, which have been travelling the nation since Sunday, assemble in Islamabad for a highly publicised power display during which they will demand, among other things, the release of their founder, Imran Khan.
D-Chowk, a roundabout in the tightly guarded Red Zone of Islamabad, has long been the site of political demonstrations. Important government buildings, such as Parliament House, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Pakistan Secretariat, and the Prime Minister’s Office, are accessible from the intersection.
Up to three levels of containers were shown stacked on top of one another when demonstrators gathered around 550 meters from D-Chowk in later images.
It appears that a “back-channel” has been opened for talks between the administration and the PTI.
By stating that the government has given Sangjani, the same location on the outskirts of Islamabad where the PTI staged its rally on September 8, for the protest, Naqvi appeared to confirm negotiations with the opposing party last night.
According to late-night media reports, PTI leaders were attempting to persuade Bushra Bibi, Imran’s wife and the leader of the major protest caravan travelling from KP to Islamabad, to agree to the plan to move the demonstration.
Over 34,000 people made up the convoy of PTI leaders and workers travelling from KP, according to police authorities cited by Dawn.
Imran Khan issued a “final call” for nationwide rallies on November 24th, calling for the revocation of the 26th Amendment, which he claimed had strengthened a “dictatorial regime,” the restoration of the PTI’s electoral mandate, and the release of party members who had been arrested.
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