Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan addressed the protesters at Islamabad’s 9th Avenue and gave a six-day deadline to the government for announcing elections and dissolving assemblies.

“I had decided that I will sit here until the government dissolves assemblies and announces elections, but of what I have seen in the past 24 hours, they (govt) are taking the nation towards anarchy,” he said, claiming that the government was also trying to create a divide between the nation and the police.

“The government tried every method to crush our Azadi March. They used teargas on peaceful protests, our homes were raided and our privacy was violated. However, I have seen the nation free itself of [the] fear of slavery,” said Khan addressing his caravan.

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He claimed that five PTI protesters were killed in clashes after the PTI’s march, saying that one had fallen off the Attock bridge amid tear-gas shelling and the other was pushed into Ravi river. He said he had also received information that three were killed in Karachi.

Addressing the Supreme Court (SC), he asked, “What crime were we committing?”

He said he “wants justice for the people of Pakistan from Supreme Court judges and the lawyers’ community”.

“I am again asking the judiciary to save your FIA (Federal Investigation Agency). In the future, no FIA officer will investigate the powerful if he will meet the same end as Dr Rizwan and Asghar,” he added. Imran said peaceful protest was the right of every Pakistani and no one “gives you [the government] to treat the people in the manner that you treated them”.

People have completely rejected the riot: Sanaullah

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, meanwhile, said the people “have completely rejected the riots”. In a statement posted on PML-N’s official Twitter account, Sanaullah was quoted as saying he had been personally monitoring the security situation.

“Imran Niazi entered the city after getting permission from the Supreme Court to hold a rally at a designated place in Islamabad and broke his promise by announcing plans to go to D-Chowk.”

Read more: PTI Azadi March: Imran sets out to lead party caravan, tensions escalate

Army summoned to control the situation

As the situation turned chaotic in Islamabad after Khan and his convoy entered the federal capital and started marching towards the city’s D-Chowk, the government decided to seek the help of the army to control the situation and protect the government’s offices located in the Red Zone.

The government, in a notification, said that the army was summoned to control the situation under Article 245 of the Constitution.

PTI, govt negotiations fail

Following the Supreme Court’s order for the government and the PTI to hold negotiations in a bid to control the situation at 10pm Wednesday, the government’s team headed by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ayaz Sadiq, reached the commissioner’s office in Islamabad but the PTI team, led by Bawar Awan, returned without holding the talks due to the late arrival of the government’s team.

Sadiq said it was decided to meet at 10pm but “due to the closure of roads, the government’s team reached the Islamabad commissioner’s office 25 minutes late”.

“We were gathered here on SC’s orders but now leaving as a sign of protest,” he told journalists. The PML-N leader added that the purpose of the dialogue was to select a place and set a guideline for PTI’s protest.

“Following the court’s order, we have removed obstacles but the city was set on fire,” he added. “The chief commissioner had been continuously calling the PTI team but they were not responsive. However, we will wait here a little longer for them.”

SC directs govt to provide PTI with ground between H-9, G-9 areas to hold jalsa

The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the federal government to provide the PTI with a ground between the H-9 and G-9 areas of Islamabad to hold its public gathering.