The Lahore Police have taken up positions near Imran Khan’s Zaman Park residence, a day after they were withdrawn following 24 hours of pitched battles that saw PTI Chief Imran Khan successfully evade an arrest. PTI workers, meanwhile, are arming themselves with stones and wooden sticks.

This could be the beginning of another round of clashes.

Aaj News reported that the police installed shipping containers on the Mall Road near Zaman Park at around 11am on Thursday, shortly after an Islamabad court indicated that it was not going to entertain the undertaking submitted by Imran Khan’s counsel Khwaja Haris.

The road leading from Davis Road to Thandi Sarak has also been blocked with shipping containers.

Traffic in the area has been suspended.

A heavy contingent of police has taken up positions near Zaman Park, said Ateeq Malik of Aaj News.

On the other hand, PTI workers armed with wooden sticks were seen on Canal Road. They are patrolling the area between Dharampura and Canal Road and they were trying to advance to the Mall Road Underpass.

PTI activists are also collecting stones to prepare for a new round of clashes. Last night, the authorities had removed stones scattered on Canal Road a few hours after clashes ended.

Earlier, police and Rangers clashed with PTI workers for 24 hours from Tuesday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon. The clashes left 54 policemen wounded including Islamabad DIGP Shehzab Bokhari.

Rangers used rubber bullets against political activists, who pelted personnel of the law enforcement agencies with stones. They also hurled petrol bombs on police vehicles.