ISLAMABAD, Nov 25 (TNS):Less than five and a half hours after operation started against Faizabad sit-in protesters, Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) have dispersed majority of the protesters.
Islamabad Police with help of Frontier Corps personnel and other LEAs have dispersed the protesters on
I.J. Principal Road near Faizabad Interchange, however, shelling is ongoing against protesters on Rawalpindi’s
Murree Road.
The crackdown has been started against protesters who had been blocking the Faizabad interchange since first week of November after last of a long series of deadlines lapsed without response from agitating parties.
Police have now surrounded the protesters from all sides. In response, the protesters are throwing stones at the security forces. TNS Correspondent at the site reported that protesters chanted slogans before throwing stones on security personnel. The police began using tear gas in response. Some security personnel were also injured.
Protesters are starting to retreat in face of police action. Security personnel have gone as far as one kilometre into the area occupied by the protesters.
Security forces also uprooted some of the belongings and tents set up by protesters during the sit-in. An emergency has been declared in hospitals of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and all shops and businesses have been shut in the vicinity of the operation.
