PM Shehbaz condemns violent protests, calls actions from K-P 'unprecedented'

Premier accuses PTI-led K-P govt of focusing on unrest in Islamabad instead of halting bloodshed in province

While condemning the violent protests in the federal capital, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the actions of the group from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) are unprecedented whose spectacle cannot be expressed in words.

He was addressing a high-level meeting on law and order in Islamabad on Friday, which was attended by Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, senior military officials, federal ministers, and other key figures.

The prime minister stated that a well-equipped group from K-P arrived in Islamabad with the intention of causing disruption. He highlighted that the protesters engaged in widespread vandalism, resulting in significant damage to the economy. “The spectacle they created cannot be put into words,” he remarked.

PM Shehbaz said that the protesters fired gunshots, leading to the deaths of three Rangers personnel and one police officer. The group also attempted to disrupt the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) conference and targeted the visit of the President of Belarus, he added.

This marked the third such attack on Islamabad, he noted, highlighting the economic toll of the protests, which caused daily losses of Rs190 billion to Pakistan’s economy.

The premier further criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led (PTI) government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for its lack of focus on addressing the ongoing violence in the region, particularly in Parachinar, where over 100 lives have been lost.

He accused the PTI government of prioritising unrest in Islamabad rather than working to stop the bloodshed in K-P.

PTI staged a protest in the federal capital which turned violent and eventually forced the government to launch a grand operation against the protesters surge to the D-Chowk, leaving the senior party leadership "escaping" from the scene.

The day started with the protestors quickly moving ahead by removing containers, clashing with the law-enforcement personnel and allegedly resorting to firing tear gas back at the security officials in their attempt to reach the venue.

Later on, the army, which was summoned on Monday night with shoot-at-sight orders, forced the protestors back a few kilometres away. According to some reports, over 1,000 protesters were arrested during the operation.

Bushra Bibi, wife of Imran Khan, participated for the first time in a PTI protest, while addressing the PTI workers took a promise from them that they would not leave the place without taking Imran Khan with them.