Sit-in outside Adiala jail dispersed; Aleema Khan, PTI activists clash with police

RAWALPINDI: A late-night clash between supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and police near the Adiala Jail culminated in the use of water cannons to disperse the protesters, including Aleema Khan, the sister of PTI founder Imran Khan, and several other women workers.

The sit-in, which had lasted for over 10 hours, was broken up by authorities around 2 AM. The protest, held near the Qareen Factory checkpoint, stemmed from PTI’s demand for the return of 14 vehicles seized by police earlier.

While five vehicles were returned to the party, the leadership insisted that all the seized vehicles be released before the protest would end. Negotiations between the police and PTI leadership reached a standstill, prompting the police to take action.

In the chaos, police detained several workers, and former Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, who had joined the protest to show solidarity with Aleema Khan and PTI supporters, was also caught in the water cannon’s spray.

Mushtaq Ahmed, alongside the Imran Khan’s sisters, had walked to the protest site on foot earlier in the evening, hoping to resolve the issue peacefully.

The sit-in was marked by escalating tensions, as workers began throwing stones at the police in response to the water cannon. Despite the disruption, the protest was eventually dispersed, and the road to Adiala Jail was cleared of all demonstrators.

The incident comes amid ongoing political tensions, with the PTI leadership seeking to press for the return of party vehicles seized during various law enforcement actions.