The streets of Lahore saw heavy deployment of law enforcement agencies on Wednesday as protests that broke out after PTI chief Imran Khan’s arrest a day before were expected to intensify.

One of the most symbolic demonstrations, the videos of which have been seen far and wide despite the government’s blackout of YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, was the ransack of Jinnah House – the official residence of the Lahore corps commander. On Tuesday, protests had spread like wildfire – an apt metaphor considering how the smell of burned trees and tyres continued to linger on many roads in the Cantonment area well into the next day.

Contrary to claims on social media that most roads in the city were blocked, we discovered that getting access to sites of protest and cordoned-off spaces was a matter of improvisation.

Certain familiar check posts, such as the ones at the entrance to Cantt through RA Bazaar had been removed. One of the lanes was blocked and the other was opened for two-way traffic without any checking. Inside the Cantonment, Speedo busses could be seen on their designated routes, indicating that a sense of normalcy had returned. The metal sculptures and the botanical clock at Girja Chowk were charred and the National Bank of Pakistan’s ATM was completely smashed. Tufail Road was open for traffic up to a certain point. The police were cordoning off one road and leaving the other open for two-way traffic. Several traffic junctions carried smoldering remains of burnt tyres and wood.

Beginning at Girja Chowk, you can see and smell burning trees. The bus stops on both sides of the road were burned completely. The charred remains of several old trees littered the sidewalk which had been dismantled brick by brick in many places. Stationed at the blockade on Tufail Road, Constable Naveed confirmed that the protests at Jinnah House had died out around 3am on Tuesday night. Early morning on Wednesday, the Lahore Waste Management Company launched its clean-up operation with bulldozers and cranes to remove the debris from the road. All the ornamental flowerpots at various traffic junctions and along Tufail Road had been smashed as well.

“What can I tell you about the damage, go look at it yourself,” the constable said.

Interestingly, the mall in front of Jinnah House on Tufail Road, which is owned by the same real estate tycoon implicated in the Al Qadir Trust case, Malik Riaz, was untouched. This is metaphoric of how the entire episode has played out since Tuesday, especially considering the damage incurred to Jinnah House and other government-owned buildings in the area.

According to security officials, the guardroom at the entrance of the corps commander’s residence was torched after the protesters entered the area. Then they entered an annex and torched several rooms. In the videos circulating since the night before, protesters can be seen carrying out food items and miscellaneous decorative pieces from the house, insisting that their demonstration wasn’t about stealing expensive items but a symbolic gesture against “theft of the nation’s wealth”.

Leaving Cantt, you can smell burning tyres all the way to Sherpao Bridge. Most of Jail Road was clear for traffic, however, the Canal was blocked for traffic moving towards the Upper Mall. A traffic policeman warned that there was intense shelling and teargas on the bridge over Faiz Ahmed Faiz Underpass, however, as with Tufail Road in Cantt, the other side of the Canal was being used for two-way traffic. I could see smoke wafting over the bridge from afar, and as I grew closer the teargas got intense and I had to turn around.

By evening, the military had been stationed in Lahore and other main cities of Punjab after being summoned under Article 245 by the provincial government.

A portion of Gulberg’s Main Boulevard was open for traffic, however, Liberty Chowk was blocked by police checkpoints on Noor Jehan Road near the Gaddafi Stadium and Liberty Market, and Main Boulevard. On social media platforms that had not been blacked out, word was that the main PTI protest would be held at Liberty Chowk.

Vehicles weren’t allowed; however, protesters could walk to the roundabout. A heavy contingent of riot police in full gear stood in the middle of the Liberty Chowk. A few women tried to run toward the white structure in the middle of the roundabout and I suppose that wasn’t allowed because the riot police ran toward them, grabbed them forcefully and put them in a prison van. We were in front of Big City Plaza casually taking photographs when we saw the riot police start running in our direction. we stood to a side, and they ran past me into the plaza shouting and wielding batons and large sticks.

“Go home woman,” one of the policemen said to me. We asked who the police were looking for inside the plaza, and he said they were expecting trouble.

“But isn’t this where PTI workers are supposed to hold their protest?” we asked. And he shook his head, saying “they’re all scoundrels.”

This is reflective of the intense polarisation we witnessed among shopkeepers and bystanders who were either reluctant to share any information about what they had seen or vehemently condemned the agitation.

Punjab’s caretaker chief minister visited the Safe City Authority headquarters to monitor the protests and deploy law enforcement forces, wherever required. A large number of people on both sides – law enforcement and civilians – were injured in the clashes that ensued. As of now, the situation on the streets mirrors the grim mood on social media platforms and will take time to return to some semblance of normalcy.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2023