PESHAWAR: Violent protests against the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan continued in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the second consecutive day on Wednesday claiming seven lives.

Clashes between the PTI workers and police also injured over 122 people prompting authorities to call in the army to help quell the violence.

The federal government authorised the “deployment of Pakistan’s armed forces and assets in aid of civil power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” under Article 245 of the Constitution at the formal request of the provincial home department.

Spokesperson for Peshawar’s Lady Reading Hospital Mohammad Asim told Dawn that four injured PTI workers were shifted to the hospital with two of them dying later.

Pakistan Radio building torched, police insist their men injured by demonstrators

He also said the hospital also received 84 PTI workers, mostly with bullet wounds.

The spokesperson said the condition of all the injured was out of danger.

The Peshawar police claimed that two superintendents of police, one deputy superintendent of police, four station house officers and four constables suffered injuries during violence in the capital city.

They claimed that the injuries were caused to the policemen after protesters hit them with stones and sticks.

Two deaths were reported in Kohat district and one in Chakdarra area of Malakand district.

The police said the personnel had been told not to carry weapons on duty.

Meanwhile, KP police chief Akhtar Hayat Gandapur denied the PTI’s claims about police firing at protesters.

In response to a video shared by PTI leader and former finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra on social media about a “policeman” firing at PTI workers, Mr Gandapur told Dawn over phone that the man in uniform was not a member of the KP police.

“Our [police] men were unarmed and the one videotaped didn’t wear the Elite Force’s uniform,” he said.

Also, Peshawar Capital City Police chief Mohammad Ijaz Khan claimed that the police didn’t use arms against protesters and instead, the protesters fired at the police personnel.

He said a man carrying a loaded gun was arrested at the Radio Pakistan building in the city.

Police officials also claimed the arrest of four people for “looting an arms shop on GT Road.”

They added that the people, who ransacked shops, were being identified with the help of footage from surveillance cameras.

The police said all violators of the law, especially those who violated the 30-day ban on gatherings in the district, would be brought to justice.

The PTI workers and police clashed at the Rehman Baba Chowk near the provincial assembly all through the day.

The main GT Road in Peshawar was deserted, while traffic in the interior city was thin and markets in the cantonment areas were partially closed.

With the GT Road closed near Hashtnagri Chowk to traffic, the protesters tried to enter the heavily-guarded Khyber Road area, which houses both government and military installations.

The police also blocked the entry of vehicles, motorcycles and pedestrians to Khyber Road from University Road by placing a shipping container.

The protesters set fire to old tyres, while the police fired tear gas shells at them.

The mob entered the Radio Pakistan building at the Rehman Baba Chowk torching the premises.

An office of the government’s news agency Associated Press of Pakistan located in the same building was also gutted in the fire. However, staff members were unhurt.

An APP employee jumped from the building’s third floor breaking his leg. The mob destroyed the car of APP journalist Adeel Saeed.

Police officials claimed they arrested 43 protesters in the provincial capital and 247, including former PTI members of the provincial assembly, in other parts of the province.

They also said 12 government and three private vehicles were burnt and 13 government and three private buildings damaged in violence.

Meanwhile, PTI workers and supporters staged street protests, blocked roads and attacked buildings in other parts of the province.

They protesters burned old tyres at Pul Chowki Interchange, GT Road and Dargai area in Chakdarra area shouting slogans against the government over the arrest of PTI chairman Imran Khan.

On Tuesday night, hundreds of PTI workers stormed the historical Chakdara Scouts’ Fort, torched the premises and burnt several Frontier Corps vehicles. The FC personnel walked away.

PTI workers blocked the main highway in Kohat outside the Gumbat grid station and Bannu Road, suspending traffic for long hours.

Authorities closed all entry gates of the cantonment areas with the army being on alert to respond to any untoward incident.

The leaders and workers of the opposition party staged a sit-in on the Hazara Expressway at the Kas Pul area of Battagram district after staging a rally.

The protesters also blocked the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway at the Swabi Interchange and set fire to it.

The Haripur police booked over 25 PTI activists for blocking roads and attempting to attack government buildings in the district.

Acting DPO Asif Gohar Khan confirmed arrests and said former provincial minister Akbar Ayub Khan and chairmen and members of various neighbourhood and village councils were also among those named in the FIRs.

Bajaur tribal district also reported rallies by the PTI.

Traders and members of other political parties accused mobsters of forcing shopkeepers in Khar Bazaar into downing shutters.

They demanded of authorities to protect public life and priority in the district.

Protesters set fire to the Nisata Interchange in Charsadda district.

PTI rallies against the arrest of their leader Imran were also reposted in the Orakzai tribal district.

Also in the day, caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan chaired a special cabinet meeting in Peshawar to discuss the law and order situation in the province and review security arrangements, reports APP.

The cabinet unanimously approved the deploying of the Pakistan Army in the province due to the current emergency situation, according to an official statement.

Information minister Barrister Feroz Jamal Kakakhel said the provincial cabinet called the federal government for the “services of the Pakistan Army in the province under Article 245 of the Constitution to prevent the situation from deteriorating.”

He said violent protests in parts of the province had damaged government properties and sensitive facilities, which was not acceptable.

“While peaceful protests were the right of all citizens, violating the law and damaging important government facilities is beyond comprehension and therefore, the caretaker cabinet members have unanimously called in the army to save the province from further damage,” he said.

The minister said in the special cabinet meeting, the actions and performance of the provincial police in controlling the situation in the province were appreciated, and tribute was paid to all police personnel.

He urged PTI chief Imran Khan to “fight his legal battle in the courts and not to push the country into further economic crisis by damaging government and public property.”

Correspondents in Malakand, Lower Dir, Kohat, Battagram, Swabi, Haripur, Charsadda, Orakzai and Bajaur also contributed to this report.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2023