Rawalpindi police thrash Geo News reporter covering PTI protest

RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi police tortured and detained Geo News correspondent, Haider Sherazi, who was covering the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) planned protest in Rawalpindi on Saturday.

Sherazi was covering the former ruling party's protest at Islamabad toll plaza, where the PTI workers and supporters clashed with the police.

The journalist introduced himself to the charged cops many times, however, they kept beating him up along with other journalists and snatched their mobile phones.

Sherazi received wounds on his face and head due to the police torture.

The journalists were beaten up by the on-duty police officials when they filmed PTI protesters who opened a blocked route after resisting the cops.

Speaking to Geo News, Inspector General Punjab Police Usman Anwar assured that the issue of police maltreatment of the journalists would be addressed.

Pointing towards clashes between PTI workers and police teams, Anwar said that the incident might have occurred due to the prevailing tense situation in Rawalpindi.

He added that he has contacted the city police officer (CPO) Rawalpindi to resolve the issue at the earliest.

Following the Punjab police chief's directives, CPO Rawalpindi Khalid Hamdani ordered the suspension of the officials involved in torturing the journalists.

He vowed that the police department would address the grievances of the journalists who were subjected to torture.

Today's protest of the former ruling party in Rawalpindi was marred by clashes between the PTI workers and police officials amid blockage of major roads leading to the garrison city.

Firebrand Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who was leading a convoy to Rawalpindi to attend the PTI protest, headed back to Peshawar as major roads remain blocked.

The Punjab government has imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in Rawalpindi Division for two days, banning all political gatherings, sit-ins, rallies, protests and similar activities.

PTI had initially planned to hold a public rally at Liaquat Bagh but shifted the event to a demonstration following directives from jailed PTI founder Imran Khan.

It also withdrew its application seeking a no-objection certificate (NOC) to hold a rally from the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench.

Earlier in the day, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Salman Akram Raja were also detained on their way to Rawalpindi near Sector H-13 only to be released shortly.

In a statement, the PTI said Gohar and Salman were travelling to Rawalpindi when the police stopped their vehicle near Sector H-13 and took them into custody. "They [law enforcers] took both the leaders in a van."

Following his release, the PTI chief — while speaking to Geo News — said that the police asked them to go back "instead of heading to Rawalpindi".

On the other hand, a Rawalpindi police spokesperson said that the city was on "high alert" and police personnel were deployed at the city's entry and exit points.

The spokesperson reiterated that no illegal public gathering was allowed at any place in Rawalpindi, warning of strict action in case of violation.

The Imran Khan-founded party, as part of its months-long efforts to secure permission to hold public gatherings, has managed to hold two rallies in Islamabad and Lahore under strict conditions in recent weeks.