Normalcy returns to twin city after protesters, police vandalism

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Motorcyclists pass through a gap in a barricade set up using shipping containers near the venue of a planned protest gathering organised by Awami Muslim League (AML), a political ally party of Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, October 28, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood

Normalcy has returned to Islamabad and Rawalpindi Saturday (today) following the last two days of clashes and arrests made in the twin cities.

Barricades around Sheikh Rashid’s Lal Haveli in Rawalpindi have been removed; however, containers on roads leading to Imran Khan’s Bani Gala residence are still there.

Earlier on Friday, police clashed with workers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Awami Muslim League in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, arresting dozens ahead of a planned protest by Imran Khan aimed at unseating the government.

Police charged stone-throwing protesters with batons and fired tear gas at the supporters, who had come out onto the streets.

Authorities used shipping containers to block major roads leading from Rawalpindi to Islamabad, where Khan has vowed to lead a demonstration on November 2 to demand Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif step down over revelations made in the Panama Papers that his family have offshore bank accounts.