Here's What Peshawar Looks Like as Civil Unrest Engulfs Pakistan
16:01 11.05.2023 (Updated: 10:11 12.05.2023)
© AP Photo / Muhammad Sajjad
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The air in the city is filled with the smell of burning tires and tear gas. Smoke is rising from the eastern part of the city, and intermittent gunshots are also heard while police and military vehicles patrol various roads at high speed. This is Peshawar, a city that is 60 kilometers away from the border of Afghanistan towards the east.
Usually, we see such scenes during terrorist incidents, but this time these scenes are after the arrest of a political party leader.
After the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan, riots are going on all over the country. After Punjab province, the army has been called to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to deal with these riots. An emergency has been imposed in hospitals across the country. Demonstrators have been continuously targeting government buildings and security offices in different cities of the country for the past two days. Dozens of protestors are being treated in different hospitals across the country due to tear gas shelling and coming under fire from the police. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf's social media campaign is constantly inciting its workers. Internet services have been shut down across the country, however, PTI supporters in England, America, and other Western countries are continuously issuing inflammatory statements and messages on various social media platforms.
A boy looks at a burnt motorbike on a roadside a day after of violent protest by Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan supporters following his arrest, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 10, 2023.
© AP Photo / Muhammad Sajjad
In such a situation, four people have been killed due to the ongoing protests in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 188 km north of Pakistan's capital Islamabad. Several of those injured have been brought to Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, the largest hospital in the province.
"During the protests, four people were killed in firing and shelling of tear gas, while twenty-seven injured have been shifted to hospital. The identity of the dead is yet to be ascertained," hospital spokesperson Mohammad Asim told us.
The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a Pakistani province adjacent to Afghanistan, has called in the army to control the situation. In violent protests during the past few days, PTI workers rioted and set fires on the highways at various places in the province.
The building of the country's first government radio center in Peshawar was set on fire. This radio station was established before World War II. Thus, it tried to create disturbances in various cantonments across the province and damaged military monuments. Protesters ransacked the cities of Mardan, Charsadda, Swat, Chitral, Buner, Bannu, and Kohat.
"The government has arrested our leader. We had said that Imran Khan is our red line, yet he was arrested, now no one can stop the revolution in this country," PTI worker Junaid said, while setting fire to the ambulance of a welfare organization in Peshawar.
A member of media takes photos of the burning building of the Radio Pakistan that was set on fire by angry supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan protesting against the arrest of their leader, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 10, 2023.
© AP Photo / Muhammad Sajjad
At various places across the province, not only were government properties damaged, but private vehicles were also pelted with stones and set on fire.
Imran Khan has a huge fan following in this province for his cricket stardom. Later on, this was the province where he made his first provincial government back in 2013. The majority of the analysts believe that his image was built on anti-corruption, and anti-West sentiment by the then military establishment. Imran Khan was the one who suggested an office for the Taliban* in Peshawar. His opponents labeled him as “Taliban Khan”. As Prime Minister, Imran Khan put forward an offer for peace negotiations to Pakistani militants based in Afghanistan. During his tenure, hundreds of militants were set free from Pakistani prisons and some relocated back to Pakistan from Afghanistan. Some political quarters alleged that militants from Afghanistan turned up at the current riots.
"I went for coverage. During the demonstration, we were not even given a chance to speak that we were from the media and they started pelting us with stones which injured me and broke the windows of the van. I faced the same kind of violence in Kabul while covering the Afghan Taliban takeover of Kabul." Arif Hayat, a journalist associated with Dawn News Channel in Peshawar, told this scribe.
Peshawar is a city in Pakistan that has been in constant turmoil since the Afghan war and is facing the worst conditions of terrorism. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the only province in the country where the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf provincial government ruled for nine years. Political opponents allege that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf plays a major role in leading the youth toward extremism in the province.
"This is the party that facilitates extremism. These people do not believe in the Constitution. These people do not believe in democracy and want to take over the country in this way. Strict action should be taken over what has happened. The people who vandalized and damaged government property should be punished. Any party can carry out such violent demonstrations, but we will not because we are the democratic forces of the country," said Amil Wali Khan, leader of the province's nationalist party Awami National Party.
A supporter of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan throws stones using a slingshot toward police officers during a protest against the arrest of their leader in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 10, 2023.
© AP Photo / Muhammad Sajjad
It should be noted that the opposition political parties, especially the terrorism-affected Awami National Party, have accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf of supporting militants within the parliament. He has alleged in the past that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has regularly provided money to Pakistan's largest militant outfit, Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan. There was a lot of concern in the country due to the presence of a militant commander during the demonstration supporting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan in the city of Lahore, Pakistan.
During the recent demonstrations, the situation worsened when the protesters armed themselves and started firing at the police. I saw half a dozen 15- to 20-year-old boys enter an arms shop in Peshawar and steal weapons, including Russian-made Kalashnikovs, which are usually smuggled from Afghanistan to Peshawar. As a result of the shooting by the demonstrators, several civilians were killed and some of the police officers were injured.
Peshawar is a city that always remained the first line of defense in the so-called war on terror. After the Taliban took over Afghanistan, this city has been facing spillover effects both in terms of militancy and refugee influx. Police and security forces have been targeted in the province almost daily. Such a chaotic situation obviously will benefit the militants that are regrouping and trying to regain footholds in the region.
The Public Relations Department of the Pakistan Army, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Wednesday that May 9 would be remembered as a dark chapter due to the unrest that was created.
The ISPR stated that the "PTI Chairman was detained by the law yesterday from the Islamabad High Court as per NAB's declaration - immediately after this arrest, Army properties and installations were systematically attacked and anti-army slogans were raised."
According to the statement of ISPR, "What the eternal enemy of the country could not do in 75 years, this group wearing a political cloak with lust for power has done." The army showed extreme patience, and tolerance and without caring about their reputation, worked with extreme patience and tolerance in the wider interest of the country. A sinister attempt was made to force the army to give its immediate reaction, which could be used for its nefarious political purposes. The Army's mature response thwarted this conspiracy.”
A member of media takes a photo of a burning building of the Radio Pakistan that was set on fire by angry supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan protesting against the arrest of their leader, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 10, 2023.
© AP Photo / Muhammad Sajjad
The ISPR statement also said, "We are well aware that there were and are orders, directives and complete pre-planning by some rogue leadership of the party behind this." "The facilitators, planners, and political activists involved in these operations have been identified, and strict action will be taken against them as per the law and all these miscreants will now be responsible for the consequences themselves."
The statement further said that no one can be allowed to incite people and take the law into their own hands.
Late on Wednesday night, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers broke into private properties, damaging many shops and banks in Peshawar. They also vandalized the premises of the Lady Reading Hospital during late night hours. No police personnel were present at that time. The police force was insufficient to stop the riots across the city. The youths alone were taking part in the vandalism and arson, while the leadership of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf from Peshawar was not present on the streets. Dozens of protestors were arrested till Thursday in Peshawar and the officials said that this course will continue as they have evidence and the identities of the rioters.
People who were injured in the clashes between police and supporters of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan are treated at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, Thursday, May 11, 2023.
© AP Photo / Muhammad Sajjad
Despite suffering a rock throwing injury in the inner part of the city, the chief of the police station pursued the protestors. Seeing the police chasing them, the youths scattered and hid in the narrow streets. The radio in the police van parked nearby was repeatedly instructing the officers to avoid shooting and to move from one place to another. The policemen were also telling each other while on duty where their colleague had been attacked with stones or where the mob had fired at them.
In the provincial capital Peshawar, the army has taken over positions after the government called them in. On the third day after their arrival, provocative activities decreased considerably. But there are still signs of protests in places. Burnt tires and vehicles can be seen in various places here and there. Some stones were thrown during protests, and quite a few tear gas shells are also visible.
*under UN sanctions for terrorism
