Lahore: In a crackdown on supporters of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan who gathered outside his residence in Lahore despite a government prohibition on gatherings in the city, one Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party activist was slain. PTI activists were scattered by police using water cannons and tear gas.
The party, however, claimed that its “peaceful” workers were arrested after reports emerged that the provincial capital had been placed under Section 144, banning public gatherings.
More than 100 Khan's party activists were detained by the police. Senior PTI leader Shireen Mazari said, "PTI worker Ali Bilal, 40, died after suffering a head injury during the baton charge. Additionally, she said that PTI women employees had been attacked "using toxins in the water" discharged by water cannons. The PTI later claimed that once victim Bilal was arrested, police brutally tortured him until he died.