Security forces, including Rangers, Islamabad Police, and Punjab Police, successfully cleared D-Chowk and China Chowk of PTI protesters late Tuesday night. The operation forced demonstrators to retreat to Kulsoom Plaza Chowk and Khyber Plaza Chowk. To secure the cleared areas, a heavy deployment of Rangers and Punjab Police was maintained, while police units responsible for firing tear gas were stationed on rooftops of nearby buildings.
Intermittent tear gas shelling continued to disperse remaining protesters, with several arrests made during the crackdown. Authorities turned off streetlights in the Blue Area and along roads on Jinnah Avenue to manage the situation.
Earlier in the day, PTI had announced a sit-in at D-Chowk, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur leading the main convoy from Peshawar. Gandapur declared the protests would persist until further instructions. Upon reaching China Chowk, PTI workers dismantled barricades and clashed with security forces. In retaliation to tear gas shelling, protesters set trees on fire along the green belt.
Some protesters who reached D-Chowk were pushed back by security forces. Gandapur and Bushra Bibi’s convoy was later seen stationed between Kulsoom Plaza Chowk and China Chowk. Sources indicated that security forces were preparing to clear both locations as all markets and petrol stations in F6, G6, and Blue Area were shut down. Streets around the Red Zone were also plunged into darkness.
Law enforcement agencies heavily patrolled key roads, including Fazal Haq and Nazimuddin Road, to contain the situation. Meanwhile, Barrister Gohar, a PTI leader, called for calm, urging party workers to avoid violence. He stressed the party’s commitment to peaceful protests and appealed to the government to exercise restraint.
Despite appeals for calm, violent clashes erupted as the PTI convoy, led by Bushra Bibi, reached D-Chowk after facing heavy resistance en route from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Police intensified tear gas shelling to disperse the crowd, but protesters retaliated by pelting stones at law enforcement personnel. The situation deteriorated as confrontations escalated.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi reiterated the government’s priority of safeguarding the Red Zone, which includes D-Chowk, and stressed the importance of maintaining order to ensure the safety of high-profile foreign dignitaries, such as the visiting President of Belarus. Naqvi affirmed that law enforcement agencies had been granted full authority to manage the unrest while avoiding loss of life.
