Govt refutes PTI claims of protest deaths

Naqvi and Tarar say Murad Saeed brought 1,500 trained Afghans to incite violence

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government on Sunday rejected the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) "propaganda" to hide their failure in the Islamabad march last week, and accused Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur of using the provincial assembly platform to "distort facts and spread blatant lies".

In a statement and a separate press conference, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Information Minister Ataullah Tarar, revealed that fugitive PTI leader Murad Saeed was leading a the 'vanguard group' of roughly 1,500 hardcore fighters to attack the law-enforcement agency (LEA) personnel.

Naqvi accused the PTI and its social media propagandists of spreading fake news about protesters' deaths to divert attention from the party's acts of senseless violence. Tarar echoed this in a press conference, claiming the PTI was fabricating baseless stories.

The PTI started its march towards Islamabad on November 24, led by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Bushra Bibi, wife of PTI founder Imran Khan. Two days later, the marchers reached Islamabad's D-Chowk but fled after the authorities launched a crackdown. Both Gandapur and Bibi fled from the scene.

After the crackdown Chief Minister Gandapur and other party leaders had been claiming that several PTI protesters died in the crackdown. However, both Naqvi and Tarar denied that claim as "blatant lies" by the PTI's social media propagandists.

Naqvi named PTI's fugitive leader Murad Saeed as the head of roughly 1,500 hardcore fighters, saying the 'vanguard group' while using K-P government's resources, used militant tactics to attack the LEA personnel as the PTI protestors barged into capital's Red Zone.

The interior minister accused K-P Chief Minister Gandapur of making "baseless inflammatory statements against the institutions, using the provincial assembly as a platform to distort facts and spread blatant lies" about the federal government and the state institutions.

He explained that the PTI protest happened when some high-profile foreign delegations were in Islamabad. He added that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on 21 November had directed the federal government to take all necessary measures to maintain law and order in the federal capital.

The PTI was offered to hold rally at Sangjani in line with a court order, he said in the statement, adding that the party was also given the concessions to even meet with jailed PTI founder Imran Khan, yet they violated the court order and forced entry into the Red Zone.

"Throughout the protest march, from Peshawar to Red Zone in Islamabad, Naqvi said, violent protestors of the PTI aggressively engaged the LEAs, repeatedly using firearms and all sorts of other weaponry including steel sling shots, stun grenades, tear gas shells and nail-studded batons.

"The violent protest was primarily orchestrated and logistically and financially sustained and supported by the resources of the government of K-P," the statement said. "PTI's protest included violent and trained miscreant elements including many "illegal Afghan nationals," he added.

"These miscreants, employed as violent vanguard, comprised approximately 1,500 hardcore fighters, working directly under absconder and proclaimed offender Murad Saeed," the interior ministry's official statement continued.

"This vanguard group, using militant tactics violently attacked the LEAs and breached the blocks with the help of [the K-p] government machinery, paving the way for the second wave of vehicles and protestors to cross," the statement added.

After the PTI protest was thwarted, the minister said, the "PTI and its social media propagandists resorted to planned and coordinated massive fake propaganda of deaths caused by LEAs' so as to divert attention from its senseless, violent and failed activity".

He pointed out that the major hospitals of the capital city had "rubbished reports of alleged gunshot casualties inflicted by LEAs." However, he noted, a sustained fabricated campaign, using old and AI generated clips was being viciously undertaken by the PTI, joined by other inimical elements.

Alarmingly, the statement read, 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 Islamabad Chief Commissioner and senior police officials, had repeatedly explained the actual situation.

"The PTI and its social media propagandists are bent upon creating divisions and confusion within society," he said, adding that such elements, whether inside the country or abroad, "will surely be held accountable under the relevant laws and no one will be allowed to sow" the seed of hatred.

During the protests, Naqvi said, a vehicle ran over Rangers personnel, who were performing duty at a check post in Islamabad, resulting in martyrdom of three Rangers soldiers and critical injuries to five others. Besides, he continued, one policeman was martyred and 232 LEAs personnel were injured.

"This violent mob not only attacked security forces but also set multiple police vehicles on fire, showcased fire arms, burnt trees and police tents, damaged properties and created terror among the common citizens," he added.

He said that the 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.

The minister further explained that the LEAs, comprising police and Rangers did not use live ammunition to disperse this violent mob, while Army neither came in direct clash with those miscreants nor did it was employed for riot control.

The statement said that 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 were more than three dozen paid aliens.

With regard to material losses incurred during the violent protests, it said, initial estimates suggest damages to the tune of hundreds of million. Besides, indirect losses to the economy are estimated to be Rs 192 billion per day, the statement said.

NAqvi said that the LEA personnel, despite sustaining grievous injuries, exhibited high degree of restraint against these violent protesters led by trained miscreants. He added that the people of Pakistan including "the proud people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa reject this kind of violent and extremist streak of politics.

At the press conference, Ataullah Tarar said that fugitive Murad Saeed participated in the PTI protest along with trained fighters. He charged that Murad Saeed was hiding in the K-P Chief Minister's House, but it did not seem appropriated to raid the Chief Minister House to arrest him.

"Lies are being spread about their own failure in Islamabad. The government had even suggested the location of Sangjani for their protest but Bushra Bibi was adamant to go to the D Chowk," he said, adding that the state never buckled under any pressure.

He said that trained Afghan citizens were brought to the protest and the K-P government gave them millions of rupees as well as weapons. "Have anyone ever saw an AK-47 rifle being brought in any protest in the world? Is it allowed to have grenades in any protest in the world," he asked.

The minister defended the LEA personnel. "A policeman stands for our protection, regardless of hot or cold weather. The officers and soldiers were not allowed to have live ammunition, no-one was killed by weapons of the law-enforcement personnel," he declared.

"They are making fake videos and making fake pictures. They [the PTI] put up pictures of those who died in Kurram [clashes] and say that they are from Islamabad," Tarar said. In fact, he added, they were the anarchists, who carried weapons in the protest march.

On this occasion, Interior Secretary Khurram Agha said that the law enforcement agencies showed great patience in the face of provocation. "The protesters opened fire, some officials were also martyred or injured. We deny the claims of live firing by the law-enforcers," he added.

In response to Tarar's press conference, Adviser to K-P Chief Minister Barrister Saif said that the claims about Murad Saeed's presence in the protest were "ridiculous", adding that the information minister was also wrong to say that Murad Saeed was hiding in K-P Chief Minister House.

"Atta Tarar is telling 100 lies to cover up his one lie," Saif charged. He said that the PML-N had the habit of blaming others for its own wrong doing. "Even in Model Town [in 2014], they were blaming the innocent workers after killing them."