PTI ends Rawalpindi protest as Gandapur fails to reach venue

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Gohar Ali Khan called off the party’s protest rally at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur could not reach the venue, Aaj News reported Saturday.

There were also reports of clashes between party supporters and the police.

Tear gas and rubber bullets were fired by police as PTI workers attempted to reach the protest site.

While returning to KP without reaching the protest site, Gandapur stated: “We do not wish to confront the institutions. We have made our protest known.”

Earlier, the Rawalpindi administration placed containers at the city’s entry points on Saturday ahead of PTI protest planned at Liaquat Bagh against controversial constitutional amendments related to the judiciary.

Thousands of police officers were deployed at various locations across the city and adjoining areas to stop PTI workers from reaching the venue.

PTI protests against proposed constitutional amendments

PTI Punjab acting president Hammad Azhar said on Friday that the party would hold a “massive gathering” in Rawalpindi. He asked the supporters to reach the venue well in time.

Ahead of their protest, the Punjab government imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in Rawalpindi Division for two days.

The notification prohibits all political gatherings, sit-ins, rallies, protests, and similar activities.

In a related development, PTI on Friday staged a protest outside the Supreme Court against the proposed constitutional amendments.

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PTI’s senior lawyers including Salman Akram Raja, Shoaib Shaheen, Latif Khosa, Azam Swati, and Niazullah Niazias well as others attended the protest. They said that the Supreme Court was the only ray of hope but the government wants to clip its powers.

Niazi said that the PTI lawyers are protesting against the government’s proposed constitutional package, particularly, the creation of additional constitutional courts. Constitutional courts already exist in the country and the PTI opposes the creation of more, he said.