Government ministers mocked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and former first lady Bushra Bibi in the early hours of Wednesday for allegedly fleeing as law enforcement agencies took action to disperse PTI protesters from Islamabad’s D-Chowk.

Protesters earlier gathered at the site for the party’s protest to demand PTI founder Imran Khan’s release, among other things, amid reports of intense tear gas shelling by security forces to curtail the large crowds. The PTI convoys have been plying roads countrywide since Sunday.

A Dawn.com correspondent reported that PTI protesters began retreating from D-Chowk in the face of heavy teargas shelling and action by the authorities as the Pakistan Rangers began arresting people.

A statement posted on state broadcaster PTV’s X account, attributed to “security sources”, said Blue Area was cleared and no operation was ongoing at the moment.

What we know so far:

• All education institutes closed in Islamabad on Wednesday
• Barrister Saif says Imran agreed to move protest venue
• PTI says negotiations conditional to prisoners’ release
• Stalemate in PTI-govt ‘talks’ continues as protesters reach D-Chowk
• PM Shehbaz condemns “attack by protesters” that left 4 personnel dead
• PTI alleges Rangers fired live ammunition, killing 2 protesters, injuring 4
• Mobile data remains suspended for 4th day
• State media says army deployed to handle “miscreants”
• Belarusian president addresses media with PM Shehbaz in Islamabad
• PSX plunges 3,500 points on political uncertainty

Addressing a press conference later at D-Chowk, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi quipped while questioned about CM Gandapur and Bushra Bibi’s whereabouts that they were “fleeing till as of now”.

Naqvi further said: “They ran away in front of you, not one or two or three but thousands of people ran away.”

He said it was a priority to restore the roads that were closed for traffic in the capital. He announced that schools would reopen on Thursday.

“Mobile and internet services will be restored by morning. You will find all roads in working condition by morning.”

He hoped that tomorrow would herald a “new dawn”, saying the administration would try to remove all containers by morning.

Addressing a press conference soon after him at D-Chowk, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar similarly pilloried Gandapur and Bushra Bibi for allegedly fleeing the protest. Saying that he visited till the end of Blue Area, Tarar said: “Sadly I must say this was not a final call but a miscall.”

He blasted the KP chief minister, saying it was the second time he had “fled” a protest after a previous disappearance in October’s protest. Meanwhile, the minister claimed that “running away” had become a “hobby” for the former first lady.

“Is this a hobby? was it a 100-metre race in a school?” Tarar said as he wondered at a final call where “everyone ran away”. The minister said the call had actually damaged the PTI and it would not be able to recover from it.

“They won’t dare after today,” he said, calling on Gandapur and Bushra to “never again turn towards Islamabad.”

Referring to PTI protesters, Tarar claimed that he had gone from D-Chowk to 7th Avenue and “you will not believe how they’ve run away from here. They’ve abandoned their cars, sandals and some even their clothes here”.

He alleged that documents were also found detailing a plan to enter the Red Zone to attack parliament and government property, and target state officials.

Tarar said the whole route at D-Chowk was clear and roads were reopening as well.

Meanwhile, the PTI claimed otherwise, sharing what it said was footage of protesters still at D-Chowk as many leaders and individuals associated with the party derided the news regarding CM Gandapur and Bushra Bibi as propaganda and “fake news” to divert attention from the protest.

Questioned about media reports earlier regarding the alleged arrests of the two, the PTI’s media cell told Dawn.com the rumours were “not true”.

Dawn.com correspondents reported that there were blackouts in many areas of Islamabad, including D-Chowk, Jinnah Avenue, G6, G8 and G9.

The PTI also shared footage of alleged firing by law enforcement agencies at party protesters, claiming that intense shelling was under way.

Scores of people were injured, including journalists who were reportedly attacked by demonstrators, as dozens of PTI supporters allegedly beat a videographer covering the protest for The Associated Press and took his camera. He sustained head injuries and was treated in a hospital.

Meanwhile, the Islamabad administration extended the shutdown of all educational institutes for another day on Wednesday.

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.

On Nov 13, Imran issued a “final call” for nationwide protests on Nov 24, demanding the restoration of the PTI’s electoral mandate, the release of detained party members and the reversal of the 26th Amendment, which he said has strengthened a “dictatorial regime”.

Imran open to alternate site, Bushra resistant: KP govt spokesperson

Meanwhile, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, the KP chief minister’s adviser on information, said that Imran had agreed to the government’s suggested proposal to move the venue of the party’s protest from D-Chowk to the sub-urban areas but Bushra Bibi and the party had refused the suggestion.

Last night, Naqvi seemed to confirm talks with the protesting opposition party, saying that the government had offered Sangjani — the same venue on the outskirts of Islamabad where the PTI held its Sept 8 rally — for the protest.

Late-night media reports had suggested that PTI leaders were trying to prevail upon Bushra Bibi, who is leading the main caravan of protesters coming from KP to Islamabad, to accept the proposal to change the protest venue.

However, Barrister Saif said while speaking in an interview on Samaa News programme ‘Nadeem Malik Live’ today: “Our announcement since the beginning was regarding D-Chowk … but the administration was not giving permission for it and then the Islamabad High Court issued an order [against it] as well so in this situation, a suggestion came from them (the government) to hold a rally in Islamabad’s suburbs and then granting permission could be considered.

“We took that suggestion to Khan sahib and he expressed agreement after discussion that alright we are ready to hold it there. But the issue that arose was when we discussed the matter with our fellows so the party refused to accept it and they kept on insisting that we will go towards D-Chowk. Mainly, Bushra Bibi said she would only go to D-Chowk and told people to sit there.”

He said Bushra Bibi was an “important personality” for the party in a political sense and was worthy of tribute and praise for her part in leading the PTI.

Barrister Saif later said in an interview on Geo News show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ that no commitment was made by the PTI to change the protest venue to Sangjani and it was merely a suggestion from the government.

He reiterated that the party’s senior leadership did not agree with the move.

PTI says negotiations conditional to prisoners’ release

Earlier, the PTI shared a video on X of CM Gandapur addressing protesters while leading a convoy towards D-Chowk. The post used a hashtag of “first release, then negotiations”.

Similarly, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan told Dawn.com: “There is no hope of talks between the government and PTI yet. The government has not made any contact yet.”

Responding in kind, Interior Naqvi similarly ruled out any negotiations with the PTI while addressing a press conference with Tarar in Islamabad.

Meanwhile, CM Gandapur said Imran had always talked about remaining peaceful and upholding the rule of law and warned the people to beware of elements among them who might try to instigate wrong acts.

He renewed his vow to reach the planned protest venue.

“We have to reach D-Chowk,” he told protesters near D-Chowk, who replied to his call with chants of “D-Chowk”.

“Till Imran Khan doesn’t give orders […] we have to protect him (Imran),” the PTI leader, accompanied by Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan at the container, asserted.

“We are peaceful. Let us hold a sit-in in a peaceful manner,” he added.

A message posted on Imran’s X account also urged protesters to not back down till the party’s demands were met.

The post alleged that law enforcement agencies “fired and shelled our workers and martyred and injured the peaceful citizens” on the interior minister’s orders, adding that he would have to answer for it.

“The citizens were not only peaceful but also kept rescuing the police and rangers who were shelling and firing.”

Earlier, Bushra Bibi vowed to be the last woman standing at D-Chowk and said she would not leave without Imran, while addressing a large crowd of protesters at Blue Area alongside Gandapur and Ayub.

She lamented Imran’s treatment in both Attock and Adiala Jail, questioning how an ex-premier could be treated the way he had been. “Khan is standing because of you and will continue standing for you, and you must promise that until Khan is with us, you will not leave D-Chowk.

“I promise that I will be the last woman here, I will not leave D-Chowk without him. If anyone tells you otherwise, it is a lie,” she said to cheers from the crowd.

“Muslims don’t hit other Muslims, so then why are you shelling us?” she questioned.

Separately, following reports of heavy teargas shelling at protesters, Barrister Gohar called upon the government to “refrain from [firing] at innocent people”.

“I called upon the government to refrain from firing at innocent people,” Gohar said on X.

“I appeal [to] all PTI’s workers and supporters to remain peaceful in their struggle. I want to tell you all that we are very much hopeful of early release of [Imran] Khan sab, InshaAllah.”

Visuals shared by a Dawn.com correspondent present at the scene at around 3pm showed dozens of PTI protesters gathering near Islamabad’s D-Chowk and climbing up containers placed there to obstruct their way.

Army personnel were also standing on top of a container, the correspondent said.

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.

In a post on X, the PTI appealed to Islamabad’s residents to bring various items — including Betnesol-N eyedrops, rose water and drinking water — to the protesters to reduce the effect of teargas.

Stalemate in talks

The government and the PTI have apparently opened a ‘back-channel’ for the sake of negotiations.

Naqvi said that they had offered the PTI an agreement to hold their rallies in Sangjani, which the party agreed to twice but did not abide by the “ceasefire”.

“So much so that they had asked us to open the routes to Sangjani,” he said while speaking to the media at D-Chowk earlier today.

“We have spoken with them in every way. […] I had said this yesterday too that let’s stand at the D-Chowk right now and start firing there, then no person would be seen there.

“But we do not plan to do that,” the minister asserted.

The interior minister said he had informed the Islamabad inspector general that it was up to him to tackle the protesters “however he wishes”. “We will definitely support him.”

While confirming reports of the army being deployed in Islamabad, the interior minister said that the forces’ priority was to protect the visiting Belarusian delegation and the Red Zone.

“Your head of state is in the Red Zone right now and his protection is of the utmost importance for us,” Naqvi said, referring to PM Shehbaz.

He alleged that the PTI was using resources of the KP government led by it, including teargas shells. “Their entire leadership does not want this bloodshed, except for one secret hand behind them controlling every single thing,” he said.

When asked about the number of PTI protesters heading for Islamabad, Naqvi said there were “three to four convoys”, claiming all of them were from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Dawn quoted police officers as saying that the convoy of the PTI leaders and workers coming from KP comprised over 34,000 persons.

3 Rangers, cop die in ‘attack by protesters’

Meanwhile, Naqvi said three Rangers personnel and a Punjab policeman lost their lives on Monday, in what he said was an “attack by miscreants”.

Addressing the media at Islamabad’s D-Chowk, Naqvi said: “Yesterday, a total of our four people were martyred, including three Rangers and a Punjab police official.”

Stating that two Rangers and four Islamabad policemen were in critical condition, Naqvi said two additional superintendent of police (ASP) and a superintendent of police (SP) were among the injured.

The minister further said that 70 Punjab cops were also injured, five of whom were in critical condition.

Barrister Saif called for an inquiry in response to the government’s allegations and said the PTI was ready to face any investigation.

In an earlier statement issued by his ministry, Naqvi had said four Rangers personnel had lost their lives in an alleged attack, condemning it in the strongest terms.

Meanwhile, state-run Radio Pakistan reported the deaths of five personnel, including three Rangers and two Punjab police.

“Scores of others were injured in attacks by the violent PTI workers,” the report claimed, adding that 22 vehicles of the Punjab police had been damaged.

“The police have arrested several violent protesters, while [the] process of identifying the perpetrators is underway,” the state media asserted.

A previous report had also stated that “five other Rangers personnel and several police officials sustained severe injuries”.

While an updated report did not specify the cause of the deaths, an earlier version, citing security sources, had said “miscreants rammed a vehicle into Rangers personnel” on Srinagar Highway in Islamabad.

The report had said a “bunch of miscreants, equipped with weapons and ammunition, pelted stones at the Rangers personnel and carried out indiscriminate firing on the security personnel at Chungi No 26 in Rawalpindi”.

Resultantly, the report said, a ranger personnel sustained serious injuries and was shifted to Rawalpindi Combined Military Hospital in critical condition.

A press release from the Inter Services Public Relations today said the funeral prayers for the three were offered at Chaklala Garrison with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir in attendance.

“Pakistan cannot afford any chaos and bloodshed for achieving vested political purposes. These acts of violence are unacceptable and highly condemnable which are bordering the limits of restraint by the law enforcement agencies. The entire nation pays homage to the martyred Rangers soldiers and all those police officials who have embraced martyrdom and those who are injured during these riots,” the press release quoted the prime minister as saying.

PTI claims 6 killed as protesters shot at

On the other hand, PTI Central Information Secretary Waqas Akram alleged that six people died due to shooting by the “fascist government”.

He further claimed that 45-60 injured were reported to be admitted to the Polyclinic and Pims hospitals for treatment.

The party earlier claimed that “paramilitary Rangers shot live ammunition” at its protesters in Islamabad, resulting in the death of two and injuring another four.

“Participants claim they saw at least six people being shot, two of whom died on the spot and four were taken to hospital,” the party said on X.

In a separate post, the party claimed that the “unarmed” party workers were under intense tear gas shelling by law enforcement agencies.

The “fake” government is willing to go to any extent to maintain its illegal occupation, the party said.

It added that the government, through its use of state institutions against its own people, was “not only inciting hatred among Pakistanis but also becoming the cause of Pakistan’s disgrace in front of the world”.

State is being very patient: info minister

Tarar, while speaking to the media earlier, lamented that PTI leadership like Bushra Bibi was “hiding in Shaheed-i-Millat” while allegedly sending children and labourers “to the front lines”, who he claimed were throwing tear gas at the police.

“The state is being very patient and not giving in to the demands simply because Bushra Bibi planned this and wants bloodshed and bodies to pile up,” he said. Tarar issued a challenge to Imran, saying: “Bring your three children to the front lines, Tyrian, Qassim, Suleiman.”

The minister stressed that the PTI chooses to hold a protest only when a foreign delegation visits from overseas. “Why at this location? Because they are enemies of the state and want to spread anarchy, which we will not allow.”

“We are responding, but not the way you want, that we respond to your bullets with bullets,” the minister asserted.

According to Tarar, he spoke to protesters who admitted that they were paid for attending the protest. Tarar also noted that Rangers, police and the armed forces have been deployed in the capital.

Separately, a resolution demanding a ban on the PTI was submitted in the Punjab Assembly by PML-N MPA Hina Pervez Butt.

It said the assembly strongly condemned the PTI’s “attack on the federation in droves” and criticised the alleged actions of protesters.

PM Shehbaz condemns ‘attack under guise of protest’

PM Shehbaz also condemned the “attack by protesters” as state media reported that four Rangers personnel and two cops were left dead as a vehicle “rammed” into them.

In his statement, PM Shehbaz said the “attack” was carried out “using a vehicle on Srinagar Highway. He directed that those involved in the incident be identified immediately and brought to justice.

The premier also ordered that the best possible medical facilities be provided to the Rangers and police personnel “injured in the attack”.

He said that “attacks on police and Rangers, under the guise of a so-called peaceful protest”, were condemnable.

PM Shehbaz noted that police and Rangers were assigned to maintain law and order in Islamabad, asserting, in an apparent reference to the PTI, that an “anarchist group seeks bloodshed”.

He emphasised that this was not a peaceful protest, but extremism.

The prime minister said Pakistan cannot afford any form of chaos or bloodshed. “Bloodshed for nefarious political agenda is unacceptable and highly condemnable.”

Naqvi also vowed to hold the miscreants involved to account, reaffirming his support for the families of the deceased.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari condemned the incident as well, terming it “outright terrorism” and calling for the suspects involved to be brought to justice.

“The Rangers and police personnel who embraced martyrdom were brave sons of the nation,” he said in a statement.

“The PPP’s stance about the right to peaceful protest [compared to] mischief and terrorism is clear,” the PPP chief said.

Army called in Islamabad: state media

Meanwhile, as tensions between PTI protesters and the government heightened, the Pakistan Army was called into Islamabad on Tuesday to “deal with miscreants”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

“Under Article 245, the Pakistan Army has been called in, and orders have been issued to deal with the miscreants with an iron hand,” Radio Pakistan stated.

“Clear orders have also been issued to shoot miscreants and troublemakers on sight,” it added.

Citing security sources, the report said all necessary measures were being taken to “counter terrorist activities by disruptive and extremist elements”.

While the Associated Press of Pakistan reported the same citing security sources, it is not confirmed whether a notification for the requisition has been issued so far.

Dawn.com has reached out to the interior ministry for a comment.

International rights organisation Amnesty International called on the government to immediately rescind the alleged “shoot-on-sight” orders and also to fully protect and ensure the rights of protesters.

“The authorities must exercise maximum restraint, aiming to prevent and de-escalate violence and to avoid the use of force.

“Any use of force must be lawful and no more than is necessary and proportionate and the authorities must take all necessary measures to prevent arbitrary deprivation of life, including by ensuring that law enforcement actions are adequately planned to minimise the risk to life. There must also be effective accountability for any unlawful use of force.”

It said the severe restrictions on assembly, movement and mobile and internet services, as well as arbitrary detentions of “thousands of protesters across Pakistan, particularly in Islamabad”, were a grave violation of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, movement and expression.

A Dawn.com correspondent also reported seeing troops of the Pakistan Army deployed at D-Chowk.

Naqvi hinted at the move yesterday, stating that the government would deal with violent protesters with an iron hand.

He warned that he would not hesitate to impose a curfew or invoke Article 245, which empowered the government to call armed forces for security purposes.

Arrests on the road to protest

The PTI’s protest, which the government is determined to foil with force, was originally scheduled to be staged on November 24.

However, the party’s convoys took a breather on Sunday night as PTI leaders said they were in “no hurry” to reach the federal capital for their ‘do or die’ protest.

The PTI protesters, some of them employing industrial fans to counter tear gas, crossed Islamabad’s Toll Plaza on Monday night as the government vowed to not spare those behind a cop’s death in “violence of miscreants”.

As PTI workers from across the country attempted to defy arrests, baton charges and tear gas to participate in the agitation, around 800 PTI leaders and supporters were arrested from across Punjab as well as in and near Islamabad on Sunday.

In an update, capital police officials told Dawn that during the ongoing protests, over 500 local PTI leaders and workers have been arrested in Islamabad.

Anticipating more arrests, the Islamabad administration declared the Crime Intelligence Agency’s building in the federal capital as a sub-jail to detain PTI leaders and workers.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that PTI’s planned protest is unlawful and directed the federal government to take all necessary measures to maintain law and order in Islamabad without disrupting public life, particularly as the Belarusian president’s arrival coincided with the protest.

Sri Lankan A team postpones tour amidst political activity in Islamabad

Separately, the Pakistan Cricket Board said that it postponed the last two matches of the Pakistan Shaheens-Sri Lanka ‘A’ series due to “political activity” in the federal capital.

According to a press release, the PCB said the last two matches were scheduled for Wednesday and Friday at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium but both boards will now collaborate to finalise new dates to complete the series.

It added that the Shaheens lead the series, having won the two four-day matches 1-0 and the opening 50-over match on Monday by 108 runs.

Additional input from APP.