Protesters push closer to PM House amid clashes
Islamabad: Hundreds of protesters aiming to topple Pakistan’s government stormed the state broadcaster’s office on Monday, blocking its transmission briefly before the army evicted them and secured the building.
Protesters barged into the Pakistan Television (PTV) network office smashing cameras and entered the control room. Over 800 protesters entered the building and they seemed to have faced no security obstacles.
Army personnel reached the headquarters of the TV station and asked the protesters to leave the building immediately.
Later, the army took control of PTV headquarters and evicted the protesters. “PTV World and News transmission has been restored,” a tweet on PTV’s twitter account said.
Thousands of supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Tahir-ul-Qadri are battling with the police since Saturday night to reach the front of the Prime Minister’s House.
The clashes started when both Khan and Qadri asked their followers, camping in front of the Parliament demanding Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s resignation, to shift the venue of protest to lawns of Premier’s House.
Riaz Burki, Assignment Editor, PTV said “The protesters were protesting outside Pakistani national TV centre.
Suddenly, I could not understand what happened that the charged protesters crossed the main gate of the PTV centre and in no time they just broke the main gate and entered…They broke glasses, security cameras.”
“First they went upstairs, they stopped the transmission. After that, they came down to the first floor where they entered the main channel newsroom, the Urdu PTV news…they took the whole staff hostage for more than an hour.” he said.
Managing Director of PTV News Mohammad Malik, talking to TV channel, said cameras worth hundreds of thousands of rupees were stolen from the headquarters, and protesters also damaged cables inside the office.
Khan immediately denied that his party men were part of the protesters that had stormed the TV station. “Whoever has entered the PTV headquarters are not our workers.
I have not told any worker to proceed towards PM House or enter any building,” the PTI chief said. The protesters who stormed the PTV building were chanting slogans in favour of the Pakistan Army.
The demonstrators wrote Qadri’s name on the walls of the PTV headquarters, Express News reported. Qadri asked his followers to vacate the building.
He told his supporters to never cross the limit set by army personnel. “Strongly obey army orders; these are your limitations,” Qadri said.
Meanwhile, A large crowd of Pakistani protesters pushed closer to the prime minister’s house in central Islamabad on Monday, fighting running battles with police after breaking into the Pakistan Secretariat area which houses government ministries.
Although they fired occasional teargas canisters, police were seen retreating and showing restraint as protesters, many carrying wooden clubs, pushed closer to PM Nawaz Sharif’s official residence.(Reuters)