Lahore: Pakistan was rocked by bloodshed and loss of lives as Lahore and Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province turned into battlegrounds.
Police and Islamist outfit Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) continued to clash on Saturday as security forces tried to prevent protesters from marching towards Islamabad, where they plan to stage a pro-Palestinian rally.
TLP, which said Punjab Police were “Israeli goons’, claimed that cops started firing indiscriminately at the protesters, killing 11 of its members and injuring over 50.
“11 TLP people have been killed since this morning. Continuous shelling and firing is going on,” a leader of the far-right Islamist group was heard saying in a viral video amid sound of gunshots in the background.
The situation was even graver in Dera Ismail Khan, where a suicide attack at Ratta Kulachi Police Training School triggered a five-hour gun battle in which 7 police personnel and 6 terrorists were killed, according to a PTI report.
It was in the early hours of Saturday when terrorists rammed an explosives-laden truck into the main gate of the police training centre, triggering a massive explosion. Terrorists wearing various uniforms then stormed into the compound and fired indiscriminately, police said.
Police personnel retaliated and surrounded some of the attackers, even as the other militants continued throwing hand grenades.
According to Sahibzada Sajjad Ahmed, District Police Officer (DPO) of Dera Ismail Khan, around 200 trainees, instructors and staff members who were present at the training centre during the attack were safely moved to secure areas.
However, as per unconfirmed versions from locals, there were dozens of casualties.
Zulfiqar Hameed, Inspector General of Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, confirmed that the area has been completely cleared and a search and clean-up operation is underway to eliminate any remaining threats.
Protests against Gaza killings intensify
The Lahore protests, against the killings in Gaza by Israeli forces, began on Thursday and intensified on Saturday. In an attempt to quell the agitation, police fired tear gas and resorted to baton-charge at several locations.
Protesters responded by throwing stones, and whatever they could lay their hands on, at the police. Dozens of cops were injured in the violent exchanges, The Dawn reported.
Several police vehicles were set on fire near Lahore’s Azadi Chowk.
Police set up barricades, places shipping containers and dug up trenches to prevent thousands of TLP protesters, led by Saad Rizvi, from proceeding towards Islamabad – about 370 kilometres from Lahore — for their proposed demonstration near the US embassy.
“Arrest is not a problem, bullets are not a problem, shells are not a problem – martyrdom is our destiny,” the TLP chief told protesters in Lohore during Friday prayers, reported AP.
The protests and ensuing violence disrupted normal life in Islamabad and Rawalpindi for the second straight day with the two cities being turned into fortresses. Key roads were sealed, businesses and schools shut, and internet services suspended.
Accusing TLP of misusing the issue for “political gain”, Pakistani minister Talal Chaudhry asserted that the government won’t allow any group to use violence or blackmail the state.
