CT Newsroom
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar give a briefing to the members of the diplomatic corps regarding Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s(PTI) allegation of straight firing by the law enforcement agencies PTI protesters and workers in Islamabad on November 24.
Reportedly, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar gave a detailed briefing to members of the diplomatic corps on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. During his address, he rejected the allegation of PTI leadership for straight firing upon the PTI protesters and workers of the November 24 march.
He clarified that law enforcement agencies (LEAs) were not provided with live ammunition in PTI ‘do-or-die’ protest but LEAs used water cannons, tear gas, and batons.
“Police and Rangers were deployed in the first two tiers, with the army as the third line of defence to protect the Diplomatic Enclave, Parliament House, and other important buildings,” he added.
He also informed the participants that the government had passed a new law “Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, 2024” to forbade the protest demonstrations in the Red Zone and required permission from a magistrate for any public gatherings.
He explains that the government took actions only to endorse the High Court (HC) order for PTI to not hold any protest gatherings in the Red Zone area of the federal capital.
The federal government always prioritized the Red Zone’s security by having Parliament House, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, federal institutions, and the diplomatic corps, he further said.
Dar informed the diplomats that PTI had chosen to hold a protest on November 24, which coincided with the planned visit of the Belarusian president.
He added that ‘this was consistent with the party’s past “malafide practice” of scheduling protests on significant dates, such as the SCO summit earlier this year and in 2014, when their protest led to the postponement of the Chinese president’s visit and protest on November 24 with the planned visit of the Belarusian president’.
Dar highlighted PTI’s stubborn attitude and attempted to march into the Red Zone, despite the government’s offer of an alternative protest site in Sangjani.
Dar also questioned the KPK Cheif Minister Ali Amin Gandapur for using government asserts for party interest stating that the ‘Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) government using public resources to stage a march on the federal capital, asserting that no federating unit had the right to do so’.
It is worth mentioning here that PTI founder Imran Khan claimed that at least 12 of its workers were killed and 1,000 were arrested. However, the government has firmly denied the allegations and claimed that the PTI violent protesters had martyred four law enforcers including three Rangers personnel and policeman.
