Pakistan says security forces handled Imran Khan supporters ‘without live ammunition’

Pakistan home ministry said despite the Islamabad high court's ordering PTI to hold a protest at Sangjani, the party “unlawfully” entered the Islamabad Red Zone

Pakistan's home ministry on Sunday said Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaaf party's November 24 protest, declared ‘unlawful’ by the high court, violated Islamabad's Red Zone, according to Dawn.

At least six persons were killed in the clashes between Pakistan's security forces and supporters of ex-PM Imran Khan. (Reuters)

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) took to the streets last week and demanded the release of Khan. The ex-PM is charged with several offences including those of corruption and violence instigation.

The home ministry said that security agencies were forced to respond to the agitation, adding that they did so without using any live ammunition.

PTI's “final call” for a nationwide protest on November 13 was to seek the restoration of the party's electoral mandate, release of Imran Khan, and the reversal of the 26th Amendment, which he claimed fortified a "dictatorial regime".

The interior ministry said that despite the Islamabad High Court ordering PTI to hold a protest at another location, Sangjani, the party "unlawfully breached entry towards the Red Zone of Islamabad".

‘Without live ammunition’

Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the security forces for “bravely” handling the protesters. However, PTI slammed Naqvi and accused him of being responsible for the alleged violence against its supporters.

"LEAs comprising police and rangers were employed without live ammunition to disperse this violent mob while the army neither came in direct clash with these miscreants nor employed for riot control,” the ministry's statement was quoted by Dawn. 

In the clash between PTI supporters and security forces, at least six persons were killed, of which four were paramilitary soldiers.

Amnesty International, a human rights NGO, condemned the violence and described it as a “brutal and lethal crackdown” on protesters by authorities.

The interior ministry's statement further alleged that Khan's party protesters “aggressively engaged” law enforcement agencies with weapons and added that the "violent protest was primarily orchestrated and logistically and financially sustained and supported by the resources of the government of (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)," Dawn reported.

In Photos | Islamabad under siege as Imran Khan supporters demand his release

The Pakistani government also accused PTI of involving violent miscreants in its protests. It claimed that the miscreants comprised around 1,500 hardcore fighters "working directly under absconder and proclaimed offender Murad Saeed".

The ministry noted that security troops were deployed in the capital city solely for the protection of key government buildings and foreign diplomats in the sensitive Red Zone under Article 245 of the Constitution.

It reportedly said that Khan's "party and its social media propagandists" were fixated on creating divisions and confusions in the society.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also condemned the protests and said that it was not a peaceful protest, but "extremism". Sharif said that these demonstrations were aimed at achieving "evil political designs".

(with inputs from agencies)