Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who also serves in the ceremonial capacity of deputy prime minister, on Wednesday rejected the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s allegations of security forces firing live ammunition at civilians during last week’s Islamabad protest, stressing law enforcers were only equipped with water cannons, tear gas and batons.
“Police and Rangers were deployed in the first two tiers, with the Army as the third line of defense to protect the Diplomatic Enclave, Parliament House and other important buildings,” he told members of the diplomatic corps in Islamabad.
Since the PTI’s “do or die” protest collapsed with its leaders abandoning supporters ahead of D-Chowk, the party has repeatedly alleged a “massacre.” Various party leaders claim “hundreds” were killed, though the party has thus far issued a list of just 12 casualties in the aftermath of the crackdown on the protesters. The government claims the PTI’s protest resulted in four deaths of security forces and nearly 200 injuries and has accused the party of using the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government’s resources to “attack” the federal capital.
In his briefing to foreign diplomats, Dar noted the government had recently enacted the “Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, 2024” barring public gatherings in Islamabad without prior permission of the local administration. He recalled the Islamabad High Court had also issued orders barring the PTI from gathering in Islamabad for its protest last month. Acting on those orders, he claimed, the government had tasked Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to engage with the PTI and determine a suitable venue for its protest. These efforts, he said, failed to achieve any progress.
Stressing the federal government prioritized the security of the Red Zone, he said the Nov. 24 protest was particularly worrisome as the Belarusian president was visiting Islamabad at the same time. He alleged this was consistent with the PTI’s past practice of scheduling protests on significant dates, recalling similarly calls for the SCO summit earlier this year and the 2014 sit-in that led to the postponement of the Chinese president’s visit.
According to Dar, the PTI had attempted to reach the Red Zone on Nov. 26 despite the government offering it an alternative protest site at Sangjani. He said human rights could not be ensured if doing so caused lawlessness and endangered the lives and property of both Pakistanis and the diplomatic corps.
Maintaining the government had exercised restraint, he said no law enforcer was equipped with any live ammunition. He also regretted the PTI had utilized the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government’s resources to “attack” the federal capital, asserting that no federating unit had the right to do so.