Islamabad (Pakistan): As several PTI protesters reached Islamabad’s D-Chowk, intense tear gas shelling was reported as security forces sprung into action amid a stalemate in talks between the government and the opposition party.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned what he said was an “attack by protesters”, which the interior minister said resulted in the deaths of at least four security personnel.
The incident comes as PTI convoys — plying roads countrywide since Sunday — gather in Islamabad for a much-touted power show to demand the release of its founder Imran Khan, among other things.
D-Chowk, a roundabout in Islamabad’s heavily fortified Red Zone, has long served as a spot for political protests. The junction leads to critical government buildings, including Parliament House, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Pakistan Secretariat, and the Prime Minister’s Office.
Later visuals showed protesters converging about 550 metres away from D-Chowk, where as many as three layers of containers could be seen piled atop each other, reported Dawn news.
The Pakistan government and the PTI have apparently opened a ‘back-channel’ for the sake of negotiations.
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