PAKISTAN RANGERS TAKE CONTROL OF ISLAMABAD SITIN AREA AFTER CLASHES KILL SIX

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Rangers took control of the area occupied by anti-blasphemy protestors in Islamabad on Sunday while law enforcement personnel were deployed in other parts of the city as peace gradually returned to the capital and other cities after a day of violence left at least six people dead.

The paramilitary forces moved in as the law and order situation worsened when police clashed with the radical Islamist protestors who had been blocking key highways in Islamabad for over two weeks, demanding the resignation of the law minister. Though security personnel deployed around the venue of the sit-in vastly outnumbered the protestors, weak planning on the part of the authorities and guerilla tactics from the demonstrators helped turn the tables on law enforcement personnel.

The Rangers also cordoned off the IJP Road, Expressway, Murree Road and the Faisal Avenue, the main thoroughfares of Islamabad, local media reported.

Protesters remained at the sit-in site on the outskirts of Islamabad defying the government action a day earlier.

Earlier in the day, there were clashes between the protestors and law enforcement, with at least one car and five motorcycles set on fire. Islamabad police used tear gas to disperse the mob.

The country’s top military and civilian leadership held a meeting on Sunday as the army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa cut short a trip to UAE and returned home.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi chaired a consultative meeting on the Faizabad operation, which was attended by Gen Bajwa, director general of Interservices Intelligence Naveed Mukhtar, Punjab chief minister Shehbaz Sharif and interior minister Ahsan Iqbal.

The role of the army came under discussion but so far the military has stayed away from the issue. In a statement, the army noted that the police have not been “optimally utilised” while dealing with the protesters belonging to the newly formed organisation Tehreek-e-Labbaik.

It said the Rangers have not been given written instructions for their deployment in contrast to the agreement that such an order would be required. Citing the Islamabad High Court order, the statement also said that the court had barred the use of firearms against the protestors and calling the army implies the use of force. The statement then asked for a clarification on these matters.