Imran Khan supporters stage rally, Clash with police

Welcome back to Race to Power on World is One. Let's now shift our focus to Asia. Pakistan is on the boil. Violent clashes erupted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the police cracked down on supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party claimed that opened fire directly into the crowds at a rally in Bahra where over 200 protesters were staging a demonstration. Party claims police used tear gas, batons and bullets to break up the demonstration. However, police forces claim that it only fired warning shots to disperse the crowd. Police alleges that protesters also attempted to snatch weapons, prompting the officials to fire further warning shots. Police also indicate 11 protesters were injured by bullets and stones, adding that demonstrators vandalised an emergency services office and set fire to an administrative building. Thousands of Imran Khan supporters have marched in the recent weeks in the PTI stronghold of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to demand his release. They've also aired anti-government grievances fuelled by harsh economic conditions. A hugely popular former cricket star, Imran Khan has been behind bars since August of 2023 and he faces scores of charges ranging from corruption to treason following anti-establishment riots. The local police said they arrested 50 people in Bara suspected of terror offences, sabotage and damaging public property. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was placed under emergency rule on Sunday last after days of anti-government protests demanding Imran Khan's release. Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday said that province's chief minister, Sohail Afridi, has been placed in custody but that he has not been arrested. The PTI, meanwhile, claims over 800 demonstrators have been mobilized in Bara in support of Sohail Afridi. Islamabad has justified the imposition of emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It has accused the PTI administration of failing to deal with militant violence which has blighted the province. Whereas the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorism attacks have increased to an unprecedented level of violent intensity, posing grave threat to the lives and properties of the people in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Furthermore, the repercussions of this instability are extending to other parts of the country as well. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has vehemently opposed the measure describing the imposition of emergency as undemocratic and a grab for power by the federal government. We reject this governor's rule. It amounts to a betrayal of the 45 million people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. We condemn this move and demand that the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa be restored and Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi be reinstated to his office. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Long March is a mass political protest rally towards Islamabad launched by supporters of Imran Khan. The march officially commenced on October 4th after multiple delays and consecutive rounds of failed negotiations between the federal government and PTI leadership. Convoys of more than 5,000 demonstrators set out from the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a traditional stronghold where PTI has held power for over a decade. The rally was spearheaded by the now-sacked KP chief minister, Muhammad Sohail Afridi. PTI leaders and protesters have articulated three primary demands. They want immediate release of Imran Khan, along with his sisters and other detained party leaders. They are also protesting Khan's alleged solitary confinement and demanding an independent medical board, including his personal physician, be allowed to assess his deteriorating health. PTI has also raised their grievances against deep-seated anti-government sentiment fueled by economic distress, alleged mandate theft in past elections, and recent controversial judicial reforms. Shahid Qazi is Baloch journalist and ex-member of PTI. He's now joining us live on this broadcast. Qazi, thank you very much for making time and welcome to the broadcast. I'm just curious, what happened to the long march to Islamabad Now the focus has shifted to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. You see, the leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was already compromised. If you can see that the march, which was supposed to be on the 4th, it kept circulating within the province instead of moving towards the Islamabad, which their intention was. The workers, you know, they are very enthusiastic about it. They removed the barriers towards the Attock Bridge. But somehow the provincial, you know, like Sohail Afridi and his cabinet, they were hesitated to go towards Islamabad. Now it is an open secret like, you know, their federal, like the chairman and other leaders, they are compromised and the ground worker is very upset about it and they have no support whatsoever from the leadership. And whatever they are doing, they're doing it on their own. You know, there's nobody asking to, there's nobody helping them to get them bailed from the prison. You know, they get arrested by the police. So everything is in the hands of the workers now. The provincial government, the chief minister and all have been, you know, locked up. So the game is in, especially with the tribe, Afridi tribe, which is the chief minister's own tribe. The Bada belongs to the Afridi tribe. And they have been protesting since yesterday and I would say two days ago. And yes, they're showing resistance against the governor rule and the emergency imposed on them. Shahid Qazi, this is what I was coming to next. You know, it's not the first time that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is seeing, you know, the tightening of a grip by the federal government. It has happened earlier as well that an elected government has been removed. But this time around, there are PTI supporters as well who are marching and they're demanding more power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. How do you then see this moving forward? Because I believe there are reports that suggest that additional security forces deployment will be done soon. Yes, the army has already been called in. The army is also on the streets. This is, I would say, a very big mistake by the government and the military establishment. As you can see, Balochistan is already burning, and even Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was in the grip of violence through TTP and other groups. Some are resistance groups, some are TTP groups against the state of Pakistan and the military's operations in the area. Now doing this, so they're closing all the political doors, you know, they're closing everywhere. And the people in Pashtun Khwa are already feeling that they've been marginalized. And, you know, they blame Punjab for taking over their resources. and now this so it's not gonna be it's not gonna be good for pakistan in the coming days all right mr kazi we'll have to leave it there and wait and see what happens in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in pakistan in total thank you for talking to us today thank you thank you