PTI worker shot during D-Chowk protest passes away

A Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) worker, Malik Idrees from Attock, who sustained gunshot wounds during a protest in Islamabad on November 26, passed away on Sunday.

Idrees had been under treatment at a hospital in Peshawar following the injuries he sustained during a security operation against PTI workers.

A video circulating on social media allegedly showed Idrees being shot in the abdomen during the protest and rushed to an ambulance. However, the authenticity of the video remains unverified.

Mourners, including PTI supporters and Idrees’s family members, gathered in Attock to grieve his loss. Videos shared online captured the emotional scene of his daughter and others crying as his funeral procession passed through the streets.

BBC journalist Farhat Javed confirmed she interviewed Idrees at a hospital after the protest. In the interview, Idrees accused authorities of firing live bullets, stating, “I am not talking about rubber bullets. I personally placed over a dozen injured people into ambulances.”

Idrees revealed he was struck by two bullets and had joined the protest with the conviction, "Either we would bring back Imran Khan or I would get shot."

During his medical treatment, Idrees also shared that he had been fasting for over 478 days for the release of PTI Chairman Imran Khan.

With his death, the number of PTI workers who have lost their lives during protests has risen to 13.

Separately, a Rangers official, Lance Naik Muhammad Tanveer, succumbed to injuries on December 19 after being in a coma since the protests at D-Chowk.

The 37-year-old officer’s death marks the fourth casualty among Rangers personnel, with several others also injured during the clashes. Tanveer is survived by his wife and five children.