Faizabad sit-in: Iqbal constitutes panel to review failed operation

Says the protest conveyed Pakistan’s negative image internationally

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Monday formed a three-member committee under the supervision of the interior secretary to review the botched operation against the Tehreek-e-Labbaik protesters at Faizabad.

The committee has been tasked to review whether any steps were taken for police’s capacity building after the 2014 sit-in by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT).



The administration’s operation against the protesters on Saturday was a complete fiasco and the law enforcers failed to disburse the protesters and evacuate the site.

The interior minister had ordered the formation of a special team of police consisting of 1,000 personnel who would have been capable of dispersing the protesters. The minister had also issued directives for fulfilling the demands of the Islamabad police on an immediate basis.

“In the light of court’s order the process of further sit-ins in the capital city should be stopped.  The recent sit-in conveyed a negative image of Pakistan at the international level. We have also become weak internally,” he stated.



Iqbal said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) “is a gift for Pakistan and many forces are extensively working to turn this project into a failure”.

“A few groups unintentionally become a tool to act upon the agenda of enemies,” said Iqbal, adding that it is the responsibility of religious scholars to educate the nation about the true teachings of Islam.

He said the coming generations would reap the seeds of hatred that had been sown. “No compromise was made on the Finality of Prophethood, and nobody can do it,” he said.