Pakistan: PTI stages sit-in protest after police stop them from meeting Imran Khan
Islamabad, May 20 : Several leaders and workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party staged a sit-in protest in Rawalpindi after they were once again denied a meeting with their founding chairman and former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, who remains imprisoned in Adiala Jail, according to local media reports.
The Islamabad police on Tuesday prevented Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, accompanied by Khan's sisters and several PTI workers and leaders, from proceeding towards Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.
The delegation was barred by police at Chungi No. 26 in Islamabad, triggering heated arguments and a subsequent sit-in protest, which ended on early Wednesday, Pakistani daily Express Tribune reported.
Addressing the media, Afridi said he went to Islamabad peacefully to express solidarity with Imran's sisters, adding that party workers had shown restraint, discipline and responsibility despite repeated hurdles and restrictions.
"It is deeply troubling that the elected chief executive of a province, accompanied by his cabinet, has been prevented from proceeding," Express Tribune quoted Afridi as saying. He described the move as inconsistent with democratic norms and indicative of a discriminatory approach towards a federating unit.
Taking to his social media platform X, special assistant to the KP Chief Minister on information and public relations, Shafi Jan, said, “Chungi No. 26 has been reopened after the worst violence, bullets and baton charge."
In a video shared by the PTI on X, CM Afridi said that the world was witnessing what he described as the state's brutality towards provincial lawmakers and a provincial chief executive.
Additionally, a video shared by the party’s Punjab chapter showed CM Afridi attempting to move through a crowd while police officers wielded batons in the background, Pakistani daily Dawn reported.
In another post on X, PTI said that “peaceful workers were being fired upon with rubber bullets”.
“The only demand is that Imran Khan be immediately transferred to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad and be treated under the supervision of his personal doctors and family members. The world must pay attention to the injustices taking place in Pakistan and, if possible, take notice of the situation,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Council (HRC) of Pakistan strongly condemned the use of rubber bullets by the Islamabad Police against “peaceful” protesters in the Chungi No. 26 area of Islamabad.
“Peaceful protest is a fundamental constitutional and democratic right of every citizen. It is the responsibility of state institutions to seek solutions to issues with patience and tolerance and within the framework of the law. The use of force against peaceful protesters, creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, and imposing restrictions on civil liberties is extremely alarming,” the rights body stated.
In the past few months, PTI has held sit-ins outside Adiala Jail every Tuesday and Thursday, the court-authorised days for meeting Khan, who continues to face restrictions in meeting his family members and party leaders.