Govt, PTI face off in NA over protest deaths
The government and opposition clashed in the National Assembly session on Tuesday, with Opposition Leader Omar Ayub accusing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of ordering security officials to open fire on Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protesters on November 26.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif immediately refuted the claim, questioning the PTI leadership's inconsistent statements about the number of deaths in Islamabad's Blue Area. He noted that the opposition had failed to provide any evidence to substantiate their claims.
This was the first National Assembly session since the November 26 standoff between PTI protesters and security personnel. Both sides remain at odds over the alleged casualties, with PTI claims ranging from 12 to over 250 deaths. The government has repeatedly called for proof to verify these assertions.
The assembly session featured fiery exchanges, with members of PTI and the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) delivering impassioned speeches about the November 26 clashes and their aftermath.
As Omar blamed the PM for ordering the crackdown and alleged opening of fire at the protestors, Asif pointed out inconsistencies in the claims made about the number of casualties, during the protest and chided the PTI leadership over their failure to share identities of the deceased till now.
Speaking on a point of order, Omar thanked the House for praying for the martyred workers of November 26 and demanded a commission of inquiry to investigate why peaceful protesters were fired upon.
"We need to get to the bottom of why peaceful protesters were shot at, and the Pakistani nation deserves an answer," he said. Omar claimed that 12 PTI workers were martyred, dozens were still missing, 200 were injured and over 5,000 party members were arrested.
"The coming generations will keep asking why bullets were fired upon the PTI workers," Ayub said, adding: "The blood of Model Town [killings in 2014] and November 26 [2024] is on Shehbaz Sharif's hands [because] he gave the order to shoot unarmed workers," he charged.
Omar also claimed that the bullets fired at the protesters were not from rifles, but from machine guns, and that the firing occurred at a range of just 150 meters. He added that the hospital records were mysteriously erased after the workers were taken there.
The opposition leader further alleged that the weapons meant for counterterrorism had been used against peaceful civilians, and the arms provided by Nato through the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) were used to target the protesters.
He maintained that the firing started at around 8:30pm and a sniper targeted Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Imran Khan's wife Bushra Bibi's vehicle. "We want to take the country forward but to move ahead, our innocent people must be released first," he said.
He then threatened to launch a civil disobedience movement if detained workers were not freed. Ayub also accused the Islamabad police of allegedly targeting Pashtun individuals. Nevertheless, he said, Pashtuns had sacrificed their lives for this land and would continue to do so.
In response to Ayub's speech, the defence minister lashed out at PTI's leadership, claiming that the details of the decisions made on November 26 night after meeting with jailed PTI founder could further lead to humiliation if revealed.
Asif questioned different claims about the number of casualties during the protests from different PTI leaders. He wondered what the actual number of deaths was. "As of today, it has been 12 to 13 days since November 26, yet it remains unclear whether there were 12, 278, or even thousands of deaths."
Asif said that the opposition had failed to provide clarity on the true number of casualties. He also pointed out that the identities of the deceased as well as details about their funerals, graves or families hadn't been presented to authenticate the claims of 12 deaths.
Asif termed the PTI claims a disgrace to the nation. "Such baseless statements and rhetoric without proof are an insult to the people. There are as many statements as there are leaders, each with differing accounts and numbers of casualties," he said.
He also emphasised on Bushra Bibi's statement that the PTI leadership fled from the scene on November 26 and left their supporters behind. This was the third time the K-P chief minister came to the capital and fled the scene.
He lamented on Ayub's comments that the Pashtuns were being targeted by the police. "The opposition leader shouldn't be playing the ethnicity card," he said, stressing that attempts to create divisions based on ethnicity and the notion of pitting Pashtuns against others would not succeed.
Asif also referred to the recent wave of violence in Parachinar in the Kurram district of K-P. He questioned the role being played by the provincial government in resolving the issue. "Instead of addressing the issues in their province, the PTI leadership chose to march on Islamabad," he said.
He said that Imran Khan had agreed that the protest would be held in the Sangjani area of the federal capital during his meeting with party leaders but his wife had reportedly rejected the idea and marched towards the D-Chowk.
"After fleeing from the scene, they abandoned their workers. If we watch the footage from that day, we will see who fired the shots, who fled and who was making threats," he said. He mentioned that the PTI's third attempt to seize power failed, just as the previous two had.
Criticising the PTI's call for civil disobedience, he recalled that similar calls were made in the past but those failed to gain traction. "Ten years ago, they called for civil disobedience, urging people not to pay their bills or taxes. No one responded to their call," he said. "This one will also meet the same fate."
He expressed the confidence that no countrymen would refuse to pay their bills, and the Pakistanis living abroad would continue to send remittances. PTI's attempts to undermine the national unity, he said, "are an acknowledgement of its defeat".
Faiz Hameed case
Separately, PTI information secretary criticised the statements of Information Minister Ataullah Tarar and Senator Faisal Vawda regarding former spymaster Lt-Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed, saying that attempts to target the PTI founder this matter was unacceptable.
In a post on X, Sheikh Waqas Akram said that Imran Khan was a "prisoner of conscience" and the former spymaster's matter was an internal matter of the military. He urged that the military leadership should take notice of the statements given by Tarar and Vawda.
Akram reiterated that the government's attempts to drag the army into politics were shameful and condemnable. He demanded of the government to take notice the rhetoric of its spokespersons and also urged the military spokesperson to bring the facts of the matter before the nation.
During the last two and a half years, Akram continued, several baseless and fabricated statements were issued and despite those moves, the PTI kept the army separate from politics. However, he regretted that "some in the ruling alliance" were openly using the military to create false narratives.