Islamabad:Violence erupted in the Bari Imam area on Monday as a planned Capital Development Authority (CDA) survey escalated into a fierce confrontation between residents and law enforcement, leaving at least eleven people injured.
The unrest began when CDA officials, escorted by a heavy police contingent, arrived in the locality to conduct a survey preliminary to a planned demolition drive. Tensions quickly reached a breaking point as the residents gathered to resist the move, leading to a chaotic standoff. According to police officials, the crowd turned violent, obstructing public servants from performing their duties and pelted the survey team with stones.
The Secretariat Police have since registered a First Information Report (FIR) against approximately 200 local residents. Authorities confirmed that six police officers sustained injuries from the stone-pelting and were subsequently shifted to nearby hospitals for medical treatment.
However, the local community presented a different account of the day’s events. Speaking to the correspondents, local leader Tanveer Abbasi alleged that the situation intensified when police opened fire on the protesters.
He claimed that at least five residents sustained injuries as a result of the police action. The area remains tense as the CDA’s attempts to clear the locality face stiff resistance from the community, who maintain that the demolition of their homes is unjust. Investigations into the clash are ongoing as authorities seek to identify the primary instigators of the riot.
