SHAFAQNA PAKISTAN (Shia News Agency)
Violent clashes erupted between supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in Faisalabad on Monday, ahead of Imran Khan’s call for a ‘shutdown’ of the city.
Khan is also scheduled to arrive in Faisalabad today in the afternoon. Khan has promised that the strike in Faisalabad is the first of a series to target major cities in the country after leading a months long demonstration in Islamabad, that shut down the city and sparked clashes.
His party has demanded Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s resignation over their accusation of fraud in the May 2013 election that brought him to power.
He says the party’s Plan C is to build pressure on the government because they wanted accountability, adding that all parties unanimously agreed that rigging had taken place during the May 2013 election.
5:40 pm — PTI to protest in Karachi tomorrow
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) is said to stage a protest in Karachi’s Regal Chowk tomorrow.
5:15 pm — PTI to observe day of mourning across Pakistan tomorrow
The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) announces a country-wide day of mourning to protest the killing of its supporter during a clash with PML-N supporters and police in Faisalabad.
PTI activists have also staged a protest in Karachi outside the Karachi Press Club.
4:15 pm — Protests erupt in different cities
Workers of the PTI came out in Islamabad to protest the violence in Faisalabad. The enraged activists blocked Abpara Chowk, bringing traffic to a halt. Around 250,000 vehicles are said to travel through this route everyday.
Assistant Commissioner Islamabad says he hasn’t received any instructions from the authorities as to how protesters are to be handled.
A similar situation was witnessed in Multan, where PTI workers came out to protest in the city’s Nawa Sheher Chowk in protest of the violence by police in Faisalabad.
Protesters were also seen out on the streets in Rahim Yar Khan, burning tyres and chanting slogans against the government.
Meanwhile, a PTI spokesman said that the party had decided to lead a protest demonstration at Mall Road in Lahore as well as outside the Lahore High Court.
3:15 pm — PTI chief incited his workers to create disorder: Rashid
Speaking at a press conference, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid accuses Imran Khan of inciting violence in Faisalabad.
“An innocent man lost his life in Faisalabad today, we are with the family in their worst hours. The government believes it is its responsibility to arrest the murderer regardless of which political party he belongs to. Police has acquired footage of the killer and three teams of police are making efforts to arrest him. The police is investigating the incident, I have no further details from them at the moment.”
In a statement issued earlier, the information minister had also said that nefarious designs of Imran Khan have been exposed now.
In a statement, he says that Imran Khan is staying at his Bani Gala villa (Islamabad) and has allowed workers to create disturbance in Faisalabad.
He says PTI always violates agreement in staging its protest.
The minister says police has been kept unarmed.
2:37 pm — PPP condemns violence in Faisalabad
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) condemns violence in Faisalabad and calls upon the government and the PTI to show restraint, according to party spokesperson Farhatullah Babar.
Babar says the party has also demanded an inquiry into the clashes and punishment under the law.
The PPP spokesperson says the provincial government of Punjab was wrong in allowing PML-N workers to come out into the streets and confront workers of PTI with sticks and batons when passions were running high. He says it invited clashes between the two sides adding that “this provocation could and must have been avoided”.
2:29 pm — PTI to observe day of mourning against worker killing
PTI’s Punjab president Ejaz Chaudhry says the party holds District Coordination Officer (DCO) Faisalabad Noor Ul Amin Mengal, Rana Sanaullah and his son-in-law accountable for the killing of its worker in today’s clashes.
He says PTI will observe a day of mourning in Faisalabad tomorrow, adding that he will speak to PTI Chairman Imran Khan to announce a day of mourning across the country.
2:00 pm — Will register FIR against attackers, says Imran
Lamenting police action against party supporters, PTI Chairman Imran Khan says he was going to travel to Faisalabad to register a First Information Report (FIR) against attackers.
Khan says ‘Gullu Butts’ in the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) had subjected PTI activists to inexplicable violence.
The PTI Chairman says if the process of recounting had taken place in the first week, following the May 2013 elections, none of this would have happened.
1:55 pm Qureshi lauds decision of Lahore tribunal to open ballot papers in NA-122
Speaking to media representatives in Islamabad’s Bani Gala area, PTI vice president Shah Mehmood Qureshi says they were in contact with workers through phone calls.
Lauding the decision of an election tribunal in Lahore to open ballot papers in NA-122 constituency, Qureshi says it was a huge step.
1:50 pm — Election tribunal orders opening of ballot bags in NA-122
An election tribunal on Monday accepted Imran Khan’s request for opening the ballot bags in constituency NA-122 to investigate allegations of rigging.
Read more here: Election tribunal orders opening of ballot bags in NA-122
1:40 pm — PML-N, PTI should instruct party workers to remain peaceful, says ANP leader
Awami National Party (ANP) leader Zahid Khan said the state should not harbour hopelessness, adding that when a state becomes hopeless, then it leads to an anarchic state in the country.
He stated that problems should not be resolved by coming out on the roads, adding that the proper channel for resolving problems was the Parliament. He also said that both parties should ask their workers to remain peaceful.
1:34 pm — MQM leader Haider Abbas condemns Faisalabad violence
In a tweet posted on his official Twitter account, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Haider Abbas Rizvi has condemned the violence in Faisalabad, saying that it is deplorable.
1:30 pm — PTI workers reach Rana Sanaullah’s area
PTI workers reach the ‘dera’ of PML-N leader and former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah, while carrying the body of deceased PTI activist Asghar who was killed in today’s clashes in Faisalabad. PTI activists are shouting slogans to mark their protest.
Meanwhile, PML-N workers are also making their way to Sanaullah’s area.
1:17 pm — PTI says shooter was PML-N guard
PTI spokesperson Dr Shireen Mazari claims that the man who shot dead PTI worker Asghar is Rana Sanaullah’s son-in-law’s guard.
She says PTI had been holding peaceful rallies since three months, adding that Sanaullah should know how PML-N workers incite violence.
Mazari also recalls that when Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) was holding demonstrations in Peshawar to protest the killing of its party’s Sindh Secretary General in Sukkur, the PTI administration in KP had not stopped them and KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had undertaken a different route in order to travel to Islamabad. She alleged that PML-N don’t have that kind of a democratic mindset and attitude.
Mazari also says that police is not doing anything to cease the clashes in Faisalabad, except for inflicting violence on PTI workers.
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