Charged political atmosphere: Govt to deploy 1,000 FC personnel in Islamabad, say sources

ISLAMABAD: With the increase in political temperature in the federal capital, the government has tightened the security to maintain the law and order situation.

After the announcement of PTI’s public gathering in Islamabad on March 27, the Ministry of Interior has decided to deploy Frontier Corps personnel, Geo News reported quoting sources. The sources further said that the Interior Ministry has sent a summary to the cabinet regarding the deployment of at least a 1,000 FC personnel in the federal capital.

Rangers have already been stationed in the capital and the FC personnel will work along with the paramilitary force in Islamabad. After the recent fiasco at the Parliament Lodges, the federal government had decided to deploy Rangers and FC personnel in the Parliament House, MNA hostels and lodges, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad had announced on March 11.

"[We] will not spare anyone who comes in the guise of militia [in the Parliament]. First, they took over the Parliament Lodges gates and then set foot in there," he said while addressing a press conference.

The minister said that the Parliament House, Lodges and old MNA Hostels are being handed over to Rangers and FC to avoid any untoward incident which earned a bad name to the country.

The deployment orders came after Islamabad Police conducted an operation inside the Parliament Lodges las week. During the operation, the police arrested more than a dozen Ansar-ul-Islam workers — a uniformed volunteer force of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl.

The DIG instructed the officials to evacuate media personnel from the building as they made their way towards the lodge of Ansar-ul-Islam MNA — Salahuddin Ayubi — which was situated on the fourth floor of the building.

Shortly afterwards, Ayubi’s staff and police personnel entered into a clash. Several parliamentarians of the PPP and PMLN were also present in the lodges at the time, while JUI's Maulana Fazlur Rehman also reached the venue. During a scuffle between the police and Ayubi’s staff at the lodges, PMLN leader Khawaja Saad Rafique was injured when his foot hit the door.