Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday warned of strict action in the coming days against PTI protesters after a day of clashes between the police and the party’s supporters.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad with the federal capital’s and Punjab police chiefs, Naqvi said: “An assault was waged which was being led by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister himself and it is before you the way they (protesters) inflicted violence on the police, I don’t need to tell you.”
He said the police had evidence of live firing, adding that a total of 564 individuals were arrested, including 120 Afghans and 11 KP police personnel.
Naqvi said the interior minister had initiated a high-level inquiry into how a provincial police force was involved in the protests and “attacked [other] police officers”, adding that “this has happened for the first time in Pakistan”.
The interior minister vowed: “Who ordered this? I assure you that whoever has given the instructions and has used the police, we will take strict action against them, submit the report to the prime minister after the inquiry and then action will be taken after that.”
He commended the police for how they handled the day’s affairs and exhibited restraint in not resorting to the use of firing. Naqvi said the area up to Centaurus Mall was now clear and the police would carry out further clearance operations in the area tonight.
“It is the effort of my team to bring life to routine as quickly as possible.”
He said 31 Islamabad police and 75 Punjab police personnel were injured but had not opened fire on the protesters in line with the government’s policy to avoid a loss of life.
“The strictest of action will be taken against whoever was involved in this episode, no matter if they’ve been arrested or not, no matter who they are, from those who ordered all the way down to the worker and you will see this in the coming days because we cannot afford this drama that Islamabad is our capital and you assault it every other day.”
He reiterated that all those involved, including CM Gandapur, would be strictly pursued.
Meanwhile, the situation in the capital continued to remain tense today, a day after violent clashes between PTI supporters and the police, while the party decided to go ahead with its Lahore protest amid blockades and high security.
Life in the capital and adjacent Rawalpindi remained disturbed for a second consecutive day with mobile network services suspended and major roads and entry points still blocked by containers.
