Thousands of supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Jan are staging violent clashes with police across the country on Friday following the assassination attempt on the Pakistan Tehrik e Insaf (Movement for Justice or PTI) leader last Thursday.
The party has confirmed the beginning of protest marches in the main cities of the country, starting with Islamabad and continuing with Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, Malakand, Rajanpur, Bahawalnagar, Muzaffargarh and Kohat, among others, which have degenerated into clashes of varying intensity with the security forces.
For the moment, the Islamabad Police have begun to fire tear gas shells intermittently to disperse the demonstrators in the capital, while the traffic in Rawalpindi — controlled by the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, allied to the PTI — is partially paralyzed and the Governorate headquarters in Lahore has remained blocked for hours by a sit-in, according to the Pakistani media.
Islamabad Police have accused PTI and former prime minister’s supporters of «hijacking traffic» in the capital and asked rally-goers to refrain from setting fire to vehicles, according to their latest messages on their Twitter account.
The former prime minister will address the nation later Friday in his first public appearance after the assassination attempt in Punjab province, which he blamed on his enemies now at the helm of the Pakistani government, from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Interior Minister Rana Sanuallah, who have completely denied any involvement.
Jan, who in April became the first Pakistani president to be ousted in a no-confidence motion, was disqualified at the end of October by the electoral commission for not having declared the money from the sale of gifts and presents received from international leaders when he was at the head of the government.
His departure from office, which Jan blamed without evidence to an alleged «international conspiracy» led by the United States, had already been preceded by a growing political tension marked by scandals of transfuguism and massive protests in favor and against the now president.
