Pakistan: New Year's Party Turns Violent In Islamabad As Ticket Row Triggers Chaos

Islamabad: A New Year's Eve party in Islamabad turned violent, with stones being thrown and a mob causing running amuck at the venue.

What led to the violence?

 According to media reports, a private housing society in Islamabad had organized a music concert for New Year's Eve, but reportedly sold more tickets than the venue's capacity. This mismanagement led to violence as people were allegedly denied entry to the concert despite having tickets.

According to a report in the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, police sources said that tickets for the concert at Park View City were sold for 5,000 rupees for families and 2,000 rupees for individuals. However, more tickets were allegedly sold than the venue could accommodate, and adequate arrangements were not made for the attendees. Chaos ensued as the area reserved for the audience became severely overcrowded.

Even those with valid tickets were reportedly denied entry. The housing society's security guards stopped the concert and prevented people from entering the venue. This sparked a riot among the ticket holders. 

How did the police respond?

According to reports in the local media, a police contingent was deployed at the venue for security and crowd control, but they remained passive spectators until the situation escalated.