KHYBER: A protest demonstration by the PTI workers in Khyber’s Bara tehsil turned violent on Tuesday as protesters clashed with police and government buildings were set ablaze.
There were reports of police firing live rounds and tear gas and protesters manhandling law enforcers. Dawn was able to confirm injuries to at least five protesters, based on accounts by eyewitnesses, who asked not to be named, while police said 50 people had been arrested.
However, a doctor at Hayatabad Medical Complex, one of the city’s three major hospitals, told Dawn that more than a dozen injured, including four policemen, had been brought to the facility.
The protest was held against the imposition of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkwa — a move that has rendered PTI’s Sohail Afridi non-functional as the province’s chief minister — and emergency in 12 of its districts, including Khyber.
Scores of PTI workers assembled at the Khyber Chowk in Bara Bazaar in the afternoon for the protest, following which police reached the site.
There were reports of police initially resorting to baton-charge and tear gas shelling to disperse protesters. Eyewitnesses told Dawn that police managed to disperse some protesters but later local MPA Abdul Ghani Afridi also reached the site with more PTI supporters.
The protesters forced police to retreat, with some of the law enforcers taking shelter in nearby shops and commercial buildings, according to eyewitnesses. Reports received from the area said protesters manhandled police and dragged them out of shops, following which law enforcers fired tear gas shells and live rounds in the air.
There were also reports of the nearby National Database and Registration Authority’s office and a portion of the Rescue 1122 building being torched.
Police eventually dispersed the protesters from Khyber Chowk but all roads leading to Bara Bazaar were closed even as the demonstration ended.
Meanwhile, leaders of the Bara Siyasi Ittehad urged both PTI workers and police to avoid violent confrontation.
Arrests
Capital City Police Peshawar said in a statement that 50 “miscreant elements” in Bara who “attempted to spread unrest” had been arrested.
Separately, the newly appointed adviser on information and broadcasting in KP, Samar Haroon Bilour, said, “Forty-two PTI-affiliated miscreants associated with vandalism and unrest have been arrested, of whom 25 are illegal Afghans.”
She accused the protesters of damaging public and government property.
The adviser alleged that some individuals, reportedly led by PTI leaders, attempted to create unrest at Bara Chowk.
She added that police made arrests over the incident and brought the situation under control.
Dawn could not independently verify the number of arrests, the extent of the damage and the nationality and immigration status of those detained.