ISLAMABAD: Top civil and military officials on Sunday decided to engage the protesters in political negotiations, discarding any options relating to use of force to disperse them, sources privy to the development said.
The high-level meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and was attended by Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, DG Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, decided that Pakistan Army will not participate in any crackdown on the Faizabad protesters but will only safeguard important government installations in the federal capital.
It was decided during the meeting that police and the civilian administration were responsible for dispersing the protesters and maintaining law and order situation and that they should fulfill the task in a peaceful manner and through negotiations.
The COAS reportedly told the prime minister that the state should not use force against its own people. “The people of Pakistan love and trust their army. Their confidence can’t be dented for small benefits,” he maintained.
The COAS further said those responsible for amendment to Khatm-e-Nabuwwat oath for election candidates should be identified and punished.
Similar considerations were made at a meeting between Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi earlier in the day.
Both dignitaries decided to engage religious parties and clerics to find an amicable solution to the sit-in and also take the military leadership into confidence over the decision.
Earlier on Saturday, the authorities had launched an operation to retrieve Faizabad intersection from Tehreek-e-Labbaik protesters after weeks of negotiations and nudging by the courts, but the police action only multiplied the government’s problems amid a worsening law and order situation in Islamabad and other cities.
At the end of the day, at least six protesters had been confirmed dead, while more than 200 people – including protesters and law enforcers – were injured. All six fatalities took place in Rawalpindi.
The protesters torched over a dozen police vehicles and several motorcycles, as riot police beat a hasty retreat hours after they mounted the crackdown. Officials said 40 personnel of Rawalpindi and 76 of Islamabad police, 64 Frontier Constabulary men and 50 civilians suffered injuries and were taken to hospitals. None of the injuries was critical though.
Published in Daily Times, November 27th 2017.
