A small signboard of Zamzama Park is visible on Canal Road, a few yards away from Mall Road Bridge, behind the historic Aitchison College in Lahore, the provincial capital. In the past, the park gained fame for cricket and later for Pakistan's politics, thanks to the former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Although the area is considered a residential neighborhood, the residents have been particularly distressed by the ongoing political campaigns and unrest in recent days.
Last week on Tuesday, a team of Islamabad police, along with the Lahore police, under the leadership of IG Islamabad, arrested Imran Khan, the former Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, in a contempt of court case, from his residence in Bani Gala, and later arrived at Zamzama Park. Although there were not many PTI workers present outside Imran Khan's residence at that time, those who were there protested and attempted to stop the police from going towards his house, which led to a clash between the police and PTI workers.During this time, additional police personnel were also requested, and all roads leading to Zaman Park were closed. When Imran Khan was arrested outside Zaman Park, the police present there took action, and in response, PTI's stick-wielding workers resisted, which led to intense shelling by the police in the area.
Two days after the clash between police and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf workers, when I arrived in the area of Zaman Park, it presented a scene of a battlefield.
Firstly, you face difficulty breathing and burning sensation in your nose because the effects of tear gas shelling were still present in the atmosphere. The streets and alleys are littered with torn political posters and destroyed camps, while PTI's stick-wielding workers are visible everywhere.
Motorcycles and cars enter the lane of Zaman Park by passing through torn posters, where one end has a board reading "No Use of Horn". One of these lanes leads to the house of PTI chairman Imran Khan, while the other leads to a dead-end lane. Here, a young man named Abdul Rahman was standing, who told me his name when asked.
The delay was only to ask Abdul Rahman about his political inclinations, and he immediately expressed his thoughts on the matter.
He told me, "Here we can sleep during the day or night. During the load shedding, we used to stay locked up in our rooms. When we came out, we found some empty shells at the entrance of the house."
He said that he has been living in his house located in the area of Zaman Park for the past 18 years, and he has never seen such a situation in this area before.
"This area was so different that our relatives only visited us because it was so quiet here. We have been locked up in our house for the past few days. We can go to eat, but we cannot call anyone. Now it is getting very difficult here."
Abdul Rahman told me that fifteen shells were found on the roof of his house and a neighboring house. A house came into view a short distance away where the sound of people playing table tennis could be heard. When asked, it was found out that the people inside were relatives who had come to the area to play.
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