Information minister says Army personnel were only protecting Red Zone. PTI spreading false propaganda for face saving: Tarar dares PTI to show video evidence of straight firing by LEAs on protestors n Murad Saeed-led hardened criminals and trained people were amongst PTI protesters. Interior ministry denies direct live ammunition against protesters.
ISLAMABAD - Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar Sunday said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is advancing false propaganda to “hide its failed attempt of disrupting peace in the federal capital and sabotaging the national economy”.
Addressing a press conference along with Secretary Interior, Chief Commissioner Islamabad and IGP Islamabad here, he said the opposition party is hell-bent “to practice politics of corpses” to achieve its vested political interests. He also rejected PTI’s claim that the officials of Law Enforcement Agencies opened fire on the protesters adding they didn’t have any live ammunition.
The Minister said, on the contrary, there were hardened criminals and trained people led by PTI leader Murad Saeed amongst protesters. He said they martyred officials of the Pakistan Rangers and the Police. Tarar said it was an illegal protest as the Islamabad High Court had not allowed this adding this march on Islamabad inflicted a loss of 192 billion rupees daily on the national economy. He said the PTI failed to present any video evidence to prove their claim that the Law Enforcement Agencies used live ammunition against the protesters.
Tarar said rather the protestors opened indiscriminate firing, targeting the officials of the Law Enforcement Agencies as a result of which 192 personnel were injured. He said it is the responsibility of the government to establish and maintain writ of the state, and protect lives and properties of the citizens. He also praised the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for “rejecting the call to create unrest and chaos in the country”.
Answering a question, the Minister said identification of miscreants is continuing and the culprits should be given exemplary punishment. He said the Constitution fully elaborates that any protest should be peaceful.
Responding to another question, Tarar said the government fully believes in independence of the media. He said the government, in consultation with the media organisations and relevant stakeholders, is working on introducing a law pertaining to the digital media. On the occasion, a video, showing PTI protesters assaulting the Law Enforcement Agencies with guns, batons, stones and slingshots, was also played.
Earlier in the day, the Interior Ministry, in a press release, said that despite a prior Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruling deeming PTI’s November 24 power show “unlawful,” the opposition party breached the Red Zone security in Islamabad. It said on November 13, PTI founding chairman Imran Khan issued a “final call” for nationwide protests to be held on November 24, demanding the restoration of the PTI’s electoral mandate, the release of detained party members, and the reversal of the 26th Amendment, which he said had strengthened a “dictatorial regime”. The PTI protesters culminated at the D-Chowk on November 26 but in the early hours of Wednesday, the security forces made the party’s top leadership leave the protest venue.
The Interior Ministry noted that PTI had been offered Sangjani as an alternate protest venue but “in spite of the extraordinary concessions extended, PTI violated the court’s orders blatantly and instead of holding a protest at designated place (Sangjani), unlawfully breached entry towards the Red Zone of Islamabad”. The press release further alleged that PTI protesters “aggressively engaged” Law Enforcement Authorities with weaponry, adding that the “violent protest was primarily orchestrated and logistically & financially sustained and supported by the resources of the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa”.
“Alarmingly, PTI’s protest included violent and trained miscreant elements including many illegal Afghan nationals who spearheaded the riots and violent activities throughout the march. These miscreants, employed as violent vanguard, comprised approximately 1500 hard core fighters working directly under absconder and proclaimed offender Murad Saeed. This vanguard group, using militant tactics violently attacked the LEAs and breached the blocks with the help of government machinery paving the way for the second wave of vehicles and protestors to cross. It must be noted that LEAs personnel, despite sustaining grievous injuries, exhibited a high degree of restraint against these violent protesters led by trained miscreants.”
“During this, a vehicle also ran over Rangers personnel performing duty at a check post in Islamabad, resulting in shahadat of three Rangers soldiers and critical injuries to five. Besides, during the violent protest, one policeman embraced shahadat and 232 LEAs personnel were also grievously injured by these miscreants.”
The Interior Ministry said that the violent mob not only attacked security forces but also set multiple police vehicles on fire, showcased firearms, burnt trees and police tents, damaged properties and created terror among the common citizens. “Pakistan Army was deployed in Islamabad under Article 245 of the Constitution only to secure key government installations and foreign diplomats in the sensitive Red Zone while ensuring a secure environment for high-profile foreign dignitaries visiting the country. On 26 November, as protesting miscreants reached the Red Zone, violating the lawful orders of the IHC, the situation escalated and they directly clashed multiple times with LEAs using firearms, tear gas shells, stun grenades, steel sling shots and nail studded batons etc.”
It further said that the LEAs comprising Police and Rangers were employed without live ammunition to disperse this violent mob while Army neither came in direct clash with these miscreants nor employed for riot control. “During this process, the armed guards of the protesting leaders and the hardcore armed miscreants resorted to indiscriminate firing. The leadership under the cover of such self-induced violence instead of controlling the violent mob fled from the area. Once the area had been cleared from the violent protestors and miscreants, site media visit was also promptly undertaken by both the Information Minister and Minister for Interior followed by the press talks.”
“Unfortunately, social media accounts of PTI resorted to planned and coordinated massive fake propaganda of deaths caused by LEAs so as to divert attention from this senseless, violent and failed activity. The major hospitals of the Capital city after due diligence rubbished reports of alleged gun shots casualties inflicted by LEAs. However, a sustained fabricated social media campaign, using old and AI generated clips is being viciously undertaken by PTI and joined by other inimical elements.”
The press release added that there have been multiple false claims of deaths ranging from tens to hundreds to thousands on social media as well as PTI political leadership and their official pages.
“Alarmingly, certain elements of foreign media also fell prey to this fake news and propaganda without any credible evidence. The government functionaries including ministers as well as Chief Commissioner ICT and senior police officials, who were directly involved in these riot control operations, have already repeatedly explained and clarified the actual situation and events unfolding with credible evidence. It may also be noted that use of lethal means by LEAs, if at all to be employed, was best suited at multiple enroute blocks rather than within Red Zone under complete media and public glare.”
The Interior Ministry said that officers and jawans of LEAs embraced shahadat, sustained injuries and risked their lives enduring grave physical hardships for multiple days to protect the lives and properties of citizens of Pakistan. Still many jawans of Rangers and Police are critically injured and are receiving medical care, it added.
“Unfortunately, PTI and its social media propagandists are bent upon to create divisions and confusion within the society. Such elements, whether inside the country or abroad, will surely be held accountable under relevant laws and no one will be allowed to sow divisions, hatred and propagate fake news.”
“It is deplorable that the Chief Minister of KP made baseless inflammatory statements against institutions, using KP Assembly as a platform to distort facts and spread blatant lies, rather than being shameful of inciting innocent youth of KP for such undesirable activities,” the press release added. “It is concerning to note that 39 lethal weapons including 18 automatic weapons have been recovered from the violent protesters and that amongst the apprehended offenders there are more than three dozen paid aliens.”
With regards to material losses incurred during the violent protests, the ministry said, initial estimates suggest damages to the tune of hundreds of million. “Besides, 11 vehicles of LEAs were damaged including prison vans set ablaze. Due to these violent protests, indirect losses to the economy are estimated to be Rs 192 billion per day. In addition to that, significant expenditures incurred on taking necessary security measures. While the plundering of the financial resources by the KP Government are separate.”
”The people of Pakistan including the proud people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa reject this kind of violent and extremist streak of politics. They also reject the baseless allegations and malicious designs behind the vicious propaganda and the complete nation wholeheartedly stands firm with peace and stability in the country,” the press release concluded.