Govt summons army as Imran heading towards D-Chowk

PTI Chairman Imran Khan addressed the demonstrators at Islamabad’s 9th Avenue on Thursday morning asking the judges of the Supreme Court where, in a democracy, a peaceful demonstration was not permitted and where demonstrators had to deal with tear gas shellings and raids.

The chairman of PTI had entered Islamabad in the wee hours of Thursday and marched towards D-Chowk. At the same time, the federal government summoned the army to “protect important government buildings” in the Red Zone.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah shared a notification, saying the government was “pleased to authorize the deployment” of the army in the Red Zone under Article 245 of the Constitution. The buildings to be protected include the Supreme Court, the Parliament, the Prime Minister, the Presidency, the Secretariat of Pakistan, and the diplomatic enclaves,” he said.

Later, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that Imran would address the demonstrators at the Centaurus Bridge. With the Imran convoy, which started the trip from the Swabi Wali interchange, en route to D-Chowk via the Srinagar Highway a group of workers and supporters of his party are already in the midst of intense police shelling.

Earlier, Imran repeated his stance on early elections, stating that he and his party workers would not leave D-Chowk until a date for new polls was announced by the “imported government”.