As PTI convoys entered Islamabad for the party’s planned power show, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday condemned what he said was an “attack by protesters”, which the interior ministry said resulted in the deaths of at least four Rangers personnel.
The incident comes as PTI convoys — plying roads countrywide since Sunday — gather in Islamabad for a much-touted power show to demand the release of its founder Imran Khan, among other things.
In a statement issued by his ministry, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the alleged attack in the strongest terms, expressing his heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the families of the deceased.
The interior minister paid “tribute to the four Rangers personnel who were martyred”.
Naqvi vowed that the miscreants involved in the attacks would be brought to justice, adding that the deaths of the young men would not go in vain.
“We are standing with the families of the martyrs and will always be with them,” the minister said, noting that the personnel sacrificed their lives while on duty.
While Naqvi’s statement specified that four Rangers lost their lives in the “attack on Rangers and police personnel”, state-run Radio Pakistan also reported the deaths of two cops.
The Associated Press of Pakistan also stated a total of six deaths, quoting security sources as saying that over 100 police officials have been wounded so far, many of whom were severely injured.
Radio Pakistan, citing security sources, said “miscreants rammed a vehicle into Rangers personnel”, resulting in the deaths of four Rangers officials during PTI’s protest on Srinagar Highway in Islamabad.
“Five other Rangers personnel and several police officials sustained severe injuries,” it noted.
The report said a “bunch of miscreants, equipped with weapons and ammunition, pelted stones at the Rangers personnel and carried out indiscriminate firing on the security personnel at Chungi No 26 in Rawalpindi”.
Resultantly, the report said, a ranger personnel sustained serious injuries and was shifted to Rawalpindi Combined Military Hospital in critical condition.
Meanwhile, according to a Dawn.com correspondent in Islamabad, PTI protesters were moving towards Zero Point in the capital, where police were using shells to deter them.
He confirmed that the convoy was four kilometres away from D-Chowk, the PTI convoys’ ultimate destination located in Islamabad’s high-security Red Zone area, which houses key government buildings.
PM Shehbaz also condemned the “attack by protesters” as state media reported that four Rangers personnel and two cops were left dead as a vehicle “rammed” into them.
In his statement, PM Shehbaz said the “attack” was carried out “using a vehicle on Srinagar Highway. He directed that those involved in the incident be identified immediately and brought to justice.
The premier also ordered that the best possible medical facilities be provided to the Rangers and police personnel “injured in the attack”.
He said that “attacks on police and Rangers, under the guise of a so-called peaceful protest”, were condemnable.
PM Shehbaz noted that police and Rangers were assigned to maintain law and order in Islamabad, asserting, in an apparent reference to the PTI, that an “anarchist group seeks bloodshed”.
He emphasised that this was not a peaceful protest, but extremism.
The prime minister said Pakistan cannot afford any form of chaos or bloodshed. “Bloodshed for nefarious political agenda is unacceptable and highly condemnable.”
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also condemned the incident, terming it “outright terrorism” and calling for the suspects involved to be brought to justice.
“The Rangers and police personnel who embraced martyrdom were brave sons of the nation,” he said in a statement.
“The PPP’s stance about the right to peaceful protest [compared to] mischief and terrorism is clear,” the PPP chief said.
Meanwhile, as tensions between PTI protesters and the government heightened, the Pakistan Army was called into Islamabad on Tuesday to “deal with miscreants”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
“Under Article 245, the Pakistan Army has been called in, and orders have been issued to deal with the miscreants with an iron hand,” Radio Pakistan stated.
“Clear orders have also been issued to shoot miscreants and troublemakers on sight,” it added.
Citing security sources, the report said all necessary measures were being taken to “counter terrorist activities by disruptive and extremist elements”.
While the APP reported the same citing security sources, it is not confirmed whether a notification for the requisition has been issued so far.
Dawn.com has reached out to the interior ministry for a comment.
Interior Minister Naqvi hinted at the move yesterday, stating that the government would deal with violent protesters with an iron hand.
He warned that he would not hesitate to impose a curfew or invoke Article 245, which empowered the government to call armed forces for security purposes.
On Nov 13, Imran Khan issued a “final call” for nationwide protests on Nov 24, denouncing what he described as the stolen mandate, the unjust arrests of people and the passage of the 26th Amendment, which he said has strengthened a “dictatorial regime”.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ruled that PTI’s planned protest is unlawful and directed the federal government to take all necessary measures to maintain law and order in Islamabad without disrupting public life, particularly as the Belarusian president’s arrival coincided with the protest.
The PTI’s protest, which the government is determined to foil with force, was originally scheduled to be staged on November 24.
However, the party’s convoys took a breather on Sunday night as PTI leaders said they were in “no hurry” to reach the federal capital for their ‘do or die’ protest.
As PTI workers from across the country attempted to defy arrests, baton charges and tear gas to participate in the agitation, around 800 PTI leaders and supporters were arrested from across Punjab as well as in and near Islamabad on Sunday.
In an update, capital police officials told Dawn that during the ongoing protests, over 500 local PTI leaders and workers have been arrested in Islamabad.
Anticipating more arrests, the Islamabad administration declared the Crime Intelligence Agency’s building in the federal capital as a sub-jail to detain PTI leaders and workers.
