Containers were placed on the roads leading to Zaman Park, 21 PTI workers and 11 police personnel were injured in the collision on Canal Road, Mall Road, and 31 vehicles were damaged.
Twenty arrested, PTI cancels rally, worker killed in police custody
Lahore (Talib Faridi, Khalid Rasheed, Musharraf Shada Madim Chaudhary, Mian Aslam, Saqib Hitt) The Manjab government imposed a ban on meetings, processions, and rallies in Lahore for seven days by enforcing Section 144. Insaf’s attempt to hold a rally failed, and police and Tehreek-e-Insaf workers clashed, which turned the area outside Mall Road, Canal Road, and Zaman Park into a battleground, workers attacked the police with sticks and bullets. Police used lathi charges, tear gas shelling, and water cannon to disperse the workers. As a result of the clash, one PTI worker Jahan Ben and 21 others were injured while 11 police personnel were also injured. The windows of 19 vehicles of PTI workers and 12 police vehicles were broken and severely damaged. Police have detained 34 people. Later, Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan announced the cancellation of the rally. According to details, Tehreek-e-Insaf had announced to take out a rally for the protection of the judiciary from Zaman Park to Data Darbar on Wednesday to start the election campaign. Banning cats, protests, sit-ins, and demonstrations were imposed by implementing the All roads leading to Zaman Park, including Mall Road, Jail Road Underpass, and Garhi Shahu Underpass were blocked by police by installing containers and police vans. Despite this, many workers continued to come to Zaman Park by building a temporary bridge with wooden splinters, the bridge was broken by the police. Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Allah Abardar Ta Nagar and the police came face to face in the rally on Canal Road. The police used shellacs and heavy lathis to disperse the workers. The police detained several workers who came to Mall Road and shifted them to Garhi Shahu police station. Meanwhile, as more PTI workers arrived to participate in the rally, the stalking workers also attacked the police and pelted stones heavily, turning the area into a battleground. The police started smashing the vehicles of PTI workers with sticks while the workers also attacked the police vehicles with stones and sticks. Clashes continued intermittently throughout the day. As a result of the clash, a PTI worker, 39-year-old Ali Bilal alias Zal Shah Baghi, a resident of Jahangir Town, was allegedly killed and 21 workers were injured, while 11 police personnel were also injured. A large number of PTI workers were present outside Zaman Park till late at night. The heavy police force was deployed around Mall Road, Zaman Park. All the roads leading to Zaman Park were blocked with containers. Food was provided to the police personnel on duty and fresh police personnel was also called from the line. Traffic flow was restored on Mall Road. In the press note of the police spokesperson, it was said that 11 police personnel including 2 DSPs, and one Esalgi O were injured due to the violence of PTI workers. The rally includes ESP Sabz and Zar, DSP Township Malis HO Hanjarwal, Constable Irfan Nadeem, Bilal, Waqar, Nashibil Ali Asmat of Abdul Sattar, Sikander, and Ali Hamza, while the condition of an injured policeman is critical. The police say that no one has been tortured by the police and no one has died due to police violence. The PTI workers could not gather in one place due to the obstructions by the police and the rally could not be held. Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan strongly condemned the actions of the caretaker government and the police, saying that the task of the caretaker government is only to ensure clean and fair elections, but what they are doing is to uphold the rule of law, the constitution, and democracy. The attack is the law of the jungle. After the announcement by the Supreme Court to hold elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PTI started campaigning, under which law did the caretaker government of Punjab commit police violence, under which law did the caretaker government of Punjab and Supreme By insulting the court, our rally was stopped and the police tortured the workers
