PTI claims one dead as violence intensifies in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) claimed that one person was killed and more than a dozen injured after police allegedly opened fire on protesters in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa amid escalating political tensions and a deteriorating security situation in the province after imposition of emergency rule, according to local media reports.

The situation has worsened following the federal government’s declaration of a state of emergency on Sunday and the imposition of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which suspended the provincial government led by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

A video circulating on social media showed gunfire erupting on a street as armed personnel chased people, forcing several individuals to flee amid the chaos.

Other widely circulated footage showed police personnel brutally beating people with batons, with several individuals seen lying on the ground amid the violent confrontation.

On Tuesday, a protest against the governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa turned violent, with demonstrators torching a National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office in the Bara Bazaar area in the province and allegedly holding 15 police personnel hostage, local media reported, citing police.

Meanwhile, PTI lawmaker Iqbal Afridi claimed that the violence left 11 party workers injured and one dead. The reported casualties could not be independently verified, Pakistani daily The Express Tribune reported.

According to Khyber District Police Officer Waqar Ahmed, hundreds of PTI supporters first assembled in Bara Bazaar on Tuesday afternoon to oppose governor’s rule. Police responded with tear gas and firing live rounds, prompting the crowd to disperse temporarily.

The confrontation resumed roughly 90 minutes later when another large group, led by provincial assembly member Abdul Ghani, marched from Minar Chowk towards Bara Chowk, raising anti-government slogans.

The protesters damaged government property and set traffic signals ablaze after reaching the intersection, Ahmed said.

The situation further deteriorated when demonstrators allegedly confined 15 police personnel inside the tehsil municipal office and took possession of their weapons and uniforms.

Citing eyewitnesses, Pakistani daily Dawn reported that at least five protesters had sustained injuries, while police arrested 50 people for allegedly trying to create unrest.

However, a doctor at Hayatabad Medical Complex, one of the three major hospitals in Peshawar, told Dawn that the facility had received more than a dozen injured people, including four policemen.

The demonstrations were staged against the imposition of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which has rendered PTI leader Sohail Afridi non-functional in his role as the province’s chief minister.

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