Pakistan violence: Army to begin negotiation with protestors; ban on TV broadcast lifted in Islamabad

Protesters have alleged that the amendments to parliamentary bills had weakened the provisions that dictate that legislators and lawmakers ‘must reference’ Prophet Mohammad while they take oath.
Opting out of the current tactic by the government and Paramilitary forces, Pakistan Army decided against the use of force in removing protestors from the entry point in Islamabad. The Army and top bureaucratic officials have chosen to initiate political negotiations with the protestors, news organisation Dawn reported.
The government in a high-level meeting also decided to revoke the ban on the broadcast of commercial TV channels which have been off air for over 24 hours in the country.
Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, ISI chief Lt. General Naveed Mukhtiar, interior minister Ahsan Iqbal and
Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif attended the meeting. During the meeting it was decided to hold talks with religious leaders to find an amicable solution to the problem.
At least six people were killed and around 250 injured amid a crackdown on violent street protests in Islamabad on Saturday evening, according to Pakistani media reports. When violence spiralled out of control, the Pakistani army was called in to deal with the situation. A large posse of soldiers had descended on the Pakistani capital to establish law and order.
A Geo News report said that on Saturday, a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) that was issued at the request of Islamabad Capital Territory Administration under Article 245 of the Pakistani Constitution, read along with Sections 4 and 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and section 131-A of the Cr.P.C, had “authorized the deployment of sufficient number of troops” as to be determined by the Commander 111 Brigade”. This order was dated Saturday, November 25 bringing it into immediate effect until further orders are issued.
Since November 6, protesters belonging to Tehreek-i-Khatm-i-Nabuwwat, Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah and Sunni Tehreek Pakistan religious groups had blocked a key road that connects the country’s capital to Rawalpindi. They demanded the resignation of Pakistan’s Law and Justice Minister Zahid Hamid for allegedly committing blasphemy. They alleged that the amendments to parliamentary bills had weakened the provisions that dictate that legislators and lawmakers ‘must reference’ Prophet Mohammad while they take oath.
The group had earlier demanded the entire federal cabinet’s resignation. They had said that their own committee would take a call on the negotiations, and that Islamabad and Rawalpindi administrations would be responsible for their actions.
On Saturday, some protesters attempted to break the gate and enter Hamid’s residence. Pakistan’s Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal had set Thursday as the deadline for the activists to break their protest and disperse. However, the demonstrations had continued unabated.
Police tried to disperse the crowd using tear gas but the protesters threw the gas canisters back at the security forces. Reports said the police also used rubber bullets at protesters who were pelting stones at the security forces. In all, about 100 protesters were arrested by the police.
The operation began early on Saturday morning in a bid to open up the Faizabad Interchange where protesters were staging a sit-in. The heavy deployments included police, the Frontier Corps (FC), and Rangers. They used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd that had brought Islamabad to a grinding halt during the last three weeks. Among the people wounded in the clashes were at least 90 police and FC personnel, according to Geo News.
The injured protesters and security personnel were taken to the nearby Pakistani Institute of Medical Services. Meanwhile, three other protests, smaller in scale, were seen in Rawalpindi on the roads leading to Islamabad. The road connecting Rawalpindi with Lahore was also reported closed.
In the midst of the chaos, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority ordered a gag on all private channels in the country. The channels’ programming was replaced with a message slate.
Local TV channels were also barred from covering the operations of the authorities live on their stations. The only broadcaster that managed to stay on-air was the state-run PTV. The government, concurrently, countered the charge of blasphemy saying that they had not made any change that would dampen the election laws in the country and that it was a clerical mistake.
Most of the protesters have backed Tehreek-e Labbaik Pakistan’s hardline Islamist leader Khadim Hussain Rizvi.
Meanwhile, claiming that they were attempting to contain the damage, the interior minister said on Saturday that their operations was being carried out as per the directions given by the IHC and that the court had ordered an end to the sit-in within three days.
Protesters had also attempted to break into the house of former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar and set the gate on fire.
Mediapersons were also attacked. According to Geo News, their crew was assaulted while covering the protests and, elsewhere, a news van belonging to another channel was set on fire.