Dar briefs diplomatic community on security steps taken during PTI protest

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar Wednesday briefed the diplomatic corps on the recent situation caused by the PTI protesters and said the government had ensured the Red Zone’s security and rejected reports of any straight firing by the security forces.

The Red Zone houses the Parliament House, Supreme Court of Pakistan, federal institutions and most importantly, the diplomatic enclave.

He said the government’s priority had always been to take care of the Red Zone. “You are very dear to us and your security is very dear to us. We have enacted a new law — ‘Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, 2024’ that bars demonstrations in the Red Zone and requires permission from a magistrate for any public gatherings,” he told the diplomats.

This appears to be the first time that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has briefed the diplomatic corps specifically on the actions of an opposition party in Pakistan.

While the PTI has claimed the death of 12 of its supporters during the protest, the government claims that one policeman and three Rangers personnel have been killed.

Dar pointed out the government exercised great restraint and did not use live ammunition, rather the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) were only equipped with water cannons and tear gas.

“We demonstrated complete patience in handling the protest. The army was called in according to the Constitution. The 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, Prime Minister’s House, Presidency and other important buildings,” he pointed out.

Giving details of why the government resorted to certain actions against the protesters, he said the Islamabad High Court had barred the PTI from holding any protest in the Red Zone.

“The business community of this area petitioned the court, which stated that the PTI could not hold the rally and the government should engage with them. In pursuance of the court ruling, the government tasked Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to engage the party but all efforts failed,” he said. Even though the government had offered an alternative protest site in Sangjani, the PTI refused and decided to move to the Red Zone.

The foreign minister said the lives of Pakistanis and diplomats could not be endangered in the name of freedom and human rights.

Dar recalled that the PTI was habitual of holding protests in the capital just before the foreign dignitaries visits. “It is surprising that a political party chooses to protest on a date when some foreign dignitaries are visiting Pakistan,” he said, adding these protests were ‘mala fide’.

He pointed out that the PTI chose to hold a protest on November 24, which coincided with the planned visit of Belarusian president. This was a repeat, he said, of the PTI’s past policies where they had tried to hold protests in the capital during the SCO summit earlier this year and in 2014 their protest led to the postponement of Chinese president’s visit.

He recalled the Supreme Court of Pakistan had dismissed the PTI’s claims that there had been rigging in 35 of the National Assembly seats in the 2014 elections. This was the basis of PTI’s 2014 sit-in but the party was reluctant to apologize despite agreeing with the government in writing. The diplomats were also briefed in detail about attempts by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to use public resources against the government, as no federating unit had the right to do so.