ISLAMABAD: The capital police detained scores of activists belonging to the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) after they gathered at Express Chowk to participate in a long march on Friday.

The PTM had announced the long march against what it said “unrest, terrorism, forced disappearances and trial of civilians in military courts”.

The capital administration had in the meantime also extended the ban on gathering of five and more people, including rallies and processions.

However, caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti took to X (formerly Twitter) and stated that there was a successful negotiation with the PTM leadership last night in which they agreed to change the location of the gathering to Tarnol from the Supreme Court. A strict order was issued for immediate release of the PTM workers arrested from Lahore, Peshawar and other cities.”

The capital police had sealed all the entry points of the Red Zone except one at Margalla Road. Besides, police were deployed at Parade Ground, Jinnah Avenue, to intercept the entry of unconcerned people.

According to the police, over 100 people reached Express Chowk adjacent to Parade Ground and assembled there. They were warned to disperse and later the police had to use force, including baton charge.

The police picked a couple of dozen protesters, bundled them into prison vans and shifted them to different police stations.

As per the negotiation with the caretaker minister, the leadership of the PTM and hundreds of its supporters gathered at Tarnol near the railway crossing, the police said.

Their leaders and supporters reached there in separate rallies from different parts of the country.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2023