ISHAQ DAR (FILE)
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday told foreign diplomats that live ammunition was not used against the protesters of PTI in Islamabad last month.
Briefing foreign diplomats here, he said the government had to take some necessary steps to ensure the security of Red Zone including the Diplomatic Enclave.
He said the government had shown restraint, as law enforcement agencies were only equipped with water cannons and tear gas, not live ammunition. The police and Rangers were deployed in the first two tiers, with the army as the third line of defense to protect the Diplomatic Enclave, Parliament House, the Prime Minister’s House, and other important buildings.
He said that Dar PTI protesters attempted to march into the Red Zone despite the government’s offer of an alternative protest site in Sangjani. He was of the view that freedom of assembly and human rights should not be exercised in ways that cause lawlessness and endanger the lives and property of both Pakistanis and the diplomatic corps.
He said the government had enacted a new law “Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act 2024” that barred protest demonstrations in the Red Zone. Moreover, the Islamabad High Court had directed the local administration to take stringent measures for the security and safety of the public.
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