By Islamuddin Sajid
ISLAMABAD (AA) - Dozens of supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan were injured Saturday in clashes with police in the garrison city of Rawalpindi near the nation’s capital of Islamabad.
Clashes erupted after Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party workers and his supporters gathered in Rawalpindi to protest and demand the immediate release of their leader from jail.
"We are holding peaceful protest but police use force against us to disperse our workers," PTI Islamabad President Aamir told reporters.
Dozens of PTI workers were arrested and many injured by police tear gas, he added.
Protesters sporting tri-colored caps and waving party flags chanted: "Long live Imran Khan", "Release Imran Khan" and "Rigged elections unacceptable."
Videos on social media showed enraged activists throwing rocks at riot police, who in turn hurled tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.
PTI announced it would hold a peaceful protest in Rawalpindi after government delaying tactics on permission to hold a rally in Liaqat Bagh on Sept. 28.
Clashes erupted between the charged protesters and police ahead of the arrival of the chief minister of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province who was leading a rally to participate in the protest.
"The vehicle of PTI interim Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan, Secretary General Barrister Salman Akram Raja and others was stopped by police in Islamabad, which is a coward act of current fascist military backed government," the PTI wrote on X.
Punjab provincial government spokesperson Azma Bokhari, however, accused the PTI of holding a protest to destabilize the law and order in the city.
"The Chief Minister of a terror-hit province is coming to invade Punjab with private force with government cranes, ambulances and jammers," she said on X.
PTI also held two massive rallies in Islamabad and Lahore in September to demand the immediate release of Khan from jail.
Khan, 72, is currently languishing in a jail in Rawalpindi. He is seeking bail in multiple cases ranging from corruption to terrorism. He denies the accusations.
The courts have already set aside two of his
convictions, and suspended a third.
The former cricket star was ousted in a no-trust vote in April 2022.