Army deployed in Islamabad as PTI protest turns violent

• Notification grants curfew powers to maintain order in city.
• Attackers kill 4 Rangers, injure 7 personnel during clashes.
• Over 100 police officers injured, many critically, in ongoing unrest.
  

ISLAMABAD: Amid escalating violence during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) protest, the federal government has deployed the army in the capital.

The Interior Ministry issued a notification invoking Article 245, allowing the military to assist in maintaining order and deal with the miscreants with an iron hand. The notification also grants the army authority to impose curfew wherever necessary to curb lawlessness.

Sources indicate that security forces have also been authorised to shoot miscreants and troublemakers on sight. 

They said that all necessary measures are being taken to counter terrorist activities by disruptive and extremist elements. All the miscreants are also being identified to bring them to justice.

The decision follows a tragic incident on Srinagar Highway, where PTI miscreants reportedly drove a vehicle into Rangers personnel, resulting in the martyrdom of four Rangers and injuries to five others, along with two police officers.

According to security officials, the attacks on law enforcement have so far claimed the lives of four Rangers and two police officers.

Over 100 police personnel have sustained injuries, many of whom are in critical condition, underscoring the gravity of the ongoing violence.

The PTI supporters have entered the federal capital on the call of their jailed party founder to gather at D-Chowk in the capital and stay there until their demands are met. The release of jailed ex-premier among other issues is what the party seeks.

A security lockdown has been imposed in the federal capital for the last two days to block Bushra Bibi and KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur-led convoys of PTI protesters, while highways into the city have been barricaded.

The government has used shipping containers to block major roads and streets in Islamabad, most of them patrolled by large contingents of police and paramilitary personnel in riot gear.

The Imran Khan-founded party, in recent months, has marched on the federal capital on multiple occasions which has seen its workers clashing with the law enforcement agencies (LEAs).