Imran Khan's Wife, Close Aide Mocked For 'Fleeing' Protests Amid Police Crackdown | Watch

Last Updated:November 27, 2024, 22:58 IST

Police launched a midnight crackdown on Imran Khan's protesting supporters, firing tear gas and arrested hundreds in Islamabad.

Policemen fire tear gas shells to disperse supporters of Imran Khan's party in Islamabad. (AFP)

As police cracked down heavily on Imran Khan’s protesters, the jailed former PM’s wife Bushra Bibi along with close aide and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur fled Islamabad’s D-Chowk to evade arrest. Videos show protesters trying to stop Gandapur from fleeing the protest.

Imran Khan urged the supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to launch a “final call" protest against the government and Gandapur was the central figure in the protests. However, the Pakistan government launched a brutal midnight crackdown on protesters, firing tear gas and arresting over 1,000 PTI workers, causing Bushra Bibi and Gandapur to flee and the party to call off the protest.

As Gandapur tried to flee the site, some of the protesters tried to stop him, saying, “Humne Ali Amin Ko Nahi Jaane Dena" (We will not let Ali Amin Go) and “Ye Dekhiye, Ali Amin Gandapur bhaag raha hai" (Look, Ali Amin Gandapur is fleeing). Some appeared to jump on top of a vehicle, presumably his.

Gandapur and Bushra Bibi remained incommunicado for hours before they finally resurfaced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mansehra on Wednesday morning. PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram told The Express Tribune that both of them were safe.

‘Gandapur Completed Hat-Trick’: Ministers Ridicule KP CM, Bushra Bibi

Apparently, this is not the first time Gandapur has “mysteriously" disappeared from PTI protests. Former Member of the Sindh provincial Assembly Dewan Sachal said “Gandapur has completed his hattrick now", while asking what would happen to the “final call".

Government ministers also joined in to mock Gandapur and Bushra Bibi, with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi saying, “They ran away in front of you, not one or two or three but thousands of people ran away." Naqvi said efforts are underway to detain both leaders.

Addressing a press conference after Naqvi, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar also ridiculed the leaders for fleeing, Dawn reported, “Sadly I must say this was not a final call but a miscall," he said, adding that it was the second time Gandapur had “fled" a protest after a similar stunt in October.

Tarar also ridiculed former First Lady Bushra Bibi, saying that “running away" had become a “hobby" for her. “Was it a 100-metre race in a school?" he said while calling on both of them to “never again turn towards Islamabad". “They brought modern weapons, teargas shells, and slingshots, attacked police, and then claimed people were killed," Tarar said on PTI protesters.

PTI’s ‘Final Call’ Protest Still On: Gandapur

Speaking from Mansehra on Wednesday, Gandapur said that the PTI protest is still ongoing and only party founder Imran Khan has the authority to decide when it will be called off. He accused the government of oppressive actions against PTI supporters, including violence, illegal detentions and restrictions on freedom of assembly.

The PTI announced a “temporary suspension" of its planned protest in Islamabad to call for their leader’s release from prison after the police unleashed a crackdown on protesters by firing tear gas and rubber bullets. The protesters broke through barricades, defied government warnings and clashed with security forces in high-security zones.

At least six people – four paramilitary soldiers and two protesters – had been killed in the protests before the overnight clashes, according to PTI. The party described the crackdown as a “massacre" under the “fascist military regime" as hundreds of workers were arrested. After dispersing the protesters, the government ended the lockdown in Islamabad.

(with agency inputs)

Islamabad, Pakistan

News world Imran Khan's Wife, Close Aide Mocked For 'Fleeing' Protests Amid Police Crackdown | Watch