Daily Times

The Ministry of Interior has issued a statement clarifying that there was no direct confrontation between the Pakistan Army and the violent protesters during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) November 24 Islamabad march.

The interior ministry has released a detailed account of the events surrounding the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protest, which took place on November 24, following an order from the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The Ministry outlined its discussions with PTI prior to the protest march and the subsequent developments, including violent incidents and the impact on the economy.

According to the statement, the PTI protest involved trained miscreants and illegal Afghan nationals. It was reported that a group of around 1,500 hardline miscreants, operating under the leadership of fugitive and wanted criminal Murad Saeed, who was also present with the group, engaged in violent activities.

The ministry named PTI’s fugitive leader Murad Saeed as the head of roughly 1500 hard core fighters, saying the “vanguard group” while using Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s resources used militant tactics to attack the law enforcers as the PTI protestors barged into capital’s Red Zone when some high-profile foreign delegations were in Islamabad.

“This vanguard group, using militant tactics violently attacked the LEAs and breached the blocks with the help of government machinery paving the way for the second wave of vehicles and protestors to cross. It must be noted that LEAs personnel, despite sustaining grievous injuries, exhibited a high degree of restraint against these violent protesters led by trained miscreants,” it further said.

The interior ministry also accused KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur of making “baseless inflammatory statements against institutions, using KP Assembly as a platform to distort facts and spread blatant lies”, further adding that the PTI was offered to hold rally at Sangjani in line with a court order, given concessions to even meet jailed PTI founding chairman Imran Khan, yet they violated the court order and breached entry into Red Zone.

In addition, the ministry alleged that the “PTI and its social media propagandists” spread ‘fake propaganda of deaths caused by LEAs’ so as to divert attention from its ‘senseless, violent and failed activity’. The statement has come on the heels of a PTI rally, which started on November 24 and culminated on Tuesday night after the government side’s late night operation against the protestors.

Throughout the protest march from Peshawar to Red Zone Islamabad, interior ministry said that violent protestors of PTI aggressively engaged LEAs repeatedly using fire arms and all sorts of other weaponry including steel sling shots, stun grenades, tear gas shells and nail studded batons to force their way to Red Zone Islamabad, saying the “violent protest was primarily orchestrated and logistically & financially sustained and supported by the resources of the government of KP.”

“PTI’s protest included violent and trained miscreant elements including many illegal Afghan nationals who spearheaded the riots and violent activities throughout the march. These miscreants, employed as violent vanguard, comprised of approximately 1500 hard core fighters working directly under absconder and proclaimed offender Murad Saeed,” the report said.

“This vanguard group, using militant tactics violently attacked the LEAs and breached the blocks with the help of government machinery paving the way for the second wave of vehicles and protestors to cross.”

It further maintained that the social media accounts of PTI resorted to planned and coordinated massive fake propaganda of deaths caused by LEAs so as to divert attention from the senseless, violent and failed activity, saying the major hospitals of the Capital city after due diligence “rubbished reports of alleged gun shots casualties inflicted by LEAs.” However, he noted, sustained fabricated social media campaign, using old and AI generated clips is being viciously undertaken by PTI and joined by other inimical elements. There have been multiple false claims of deaths ranging from tens to hundreds to thousands on social media as well as PTI political leadership and their official pages.

While narrating the events, Naqvi said that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on 21 November directed the federal government to take all necessary measures to maintain law and order in the federal capital. He said that IHC directed the Interior Minister to engage with the PTI leadership in this regard.

It further said that a vehicle also ran over Rangers personnel performing duty at a check post in Islambad, resulting in shahadat of three Rangers soldiers and critical injuries to five. Besides, he continued, during the violent protest, one policeman was martyred and 232 LEAs personnel were also grievously injured by the miscreants. “This violent mob not only attacked security forces but also set multiple police vehicles on fire, showcased fire arms, burnt trees and police tents, damaged properties and created terror among the common citizens,” the ministry stated.

Pakistan Army was deployed in Islamabad under Article 245 of the Constitution only to secure key government installations and foreign diplomats in the sensitive Red Zone while ensuring secure environment for high-profile foreign dignitaries visiting the country, it continued.

On 26 November, it added, as protesting miscreants reached Red Zone, violating the lawful orders of the IHC, the situation escalated and they directly clashed multiple times with LEAs using fire arms, tear gas shells, stun grenades, steel sling shots and nail studded batons etc.

Alarmingly, the statement read, certain elements of foreign media also fell prey to this fake news and propaganda without any credible evidence. The government functionaries including Ministers as well as Chief Commissioner ICT and senior police officials, who were directly involved in these riot control operations, have already repeatedly explained and clarified the actual situation and events unfolding with credible evidences. It said that it may also be noted that “use of lethal means by LEAs, if at all to be employed, was best suited at multiple enroute blocks rather than within Red Zone under complete media and public glare.”

“Officers and jawans of LEAs embraced shahadat, sustained injuries and risked their lives enduring grave physical hardships for multiple days to protect the lives and properties of citizens of Pakistan,” it read, adding still many jawans of Rangers and Police are critically injured and are receiving medical care.

The statement said that it is concerning to note that 39 lethal weapons including 18 automatic weapons have been recovered from the violent protesters and that amongst the apprehended offenders there are more than three dozen paid aliens.

With regard to material losses incurred during the violent protests, it said, initial estimates suggest damages to the tune of hundreds of million. Besides, 11 vehicles of LEAs were damaged including prison vans set ablaze.

Due to these violent protests, it stated, indirect losses to the economy are estimated to be Rs 192 billion per day. In addition to that, significant expenditure incurred on taking necessary security measures, saying the plundering of the financial resources by the KP Government are separate.

The statement further read that people of Pakistan including the proud people of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa reject this kind of violent and extremist streak of politics, saying they also reject the baseless allegations and malicious designs behind the vicious propaganda and complete nation wholeheartedly stands firm with peace and stability in the country.