WEB DESK: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has vowed to pursue legal action against top government officials, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, over the alleged killings of party workers during a violent crackdown on their November 24 protest in Islamabad.
The demonstration, which had been dubbed a “do-or-die” rally, was abruptly halted after a late-night operation by law enforcement agencies.
Addressing the media in Peshawar, PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram accused the government of attempting to conceal the truth, claiming that individuals exposing the truth were being arrested. “The government has been trying to conceal the facts, and anyone trying to reveal them is being detained,” Akram said.
According to PTI, nearly 1,000 of its workers were arrested during the crackdown on a crowd that had gathered at D-Chowk in Islamabad. The protest was held in support of PTI’s founder, Imran Khan, who has been incarcerated for over a year.
The party claims that the law enforcement action resulted in multiple casualties, estimating that anywhere between eight and 40 people were killed during the violence. However, the government has denied these claims, asserting that no fatalities occurred during the operation to disperse the protesters.
Akram fiercely rejected the government’s version of events, presenting video evidence of gunfire during the crackdown. “At least 12 people were killed on the spot, and their bodies were not handed over to their families,” he stated, further alleging that authorities had pressured Polyclinic Hospital in Islamabad to withhold records detailing the killed and injured. He also claimed that many PTI workers were being detained by the police, with several still missing.
As part of their response, PTI’s legal teams are reportedly assisting the detained protesters, asserting that they were not “terrorists” but rather peaceful demonstrators. The party has also expressed outrage over actions taken by the Punjab government, accusing authorities of raiding the residences of provincial lawmakers and vandalizing properties.
PTI’s criticism extended to the proposed imposition of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which Akram described as “the worst of stupidities.” He also condemned a resolution passed in the Balochistan Assembly calling for a ban on PTI, promising to introduce a similar resolution in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, calling for a ban on the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
In a separate development, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur called for an expedited compilation of a list of missing and deceased PTI workers following the Islamabad crackdown. “Our priority should be to finalize the lists of party workers who were killed, arrested, or still missing,” Gandapur said in a meeting with party leaders.
He assured that families of the deceased would receive compensation of Rs10 million each and legal proceedings would be initiated to secure the release of arrested workers and office-bearers. “We will not leave our workers alone at this critical time,” Gandapur added, reiterating that PTI’s legal team was already preparing a first information report (FIR) against law enforcement agencies for allegedly targeting peaceful protesters.
While the PTI protest in Islamabad has been officially called off, the party has made it clear that their struggle will continue until Imran Khan is released. The protest has become a focal point in the ongoing battle between the government and PTI, as both sides brace for further political and legal confrontations in the coming days.
