Pakistan Foreign Minister assures diplomats of full security after Imran Khan's party protest

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday assured foreign diplomats that the government was committed to providing them complete security amidst the recent protest by former premier Imran Khan's party close to the Red Zone here.  Dar briefed members of the diplomatic corps on the recent clashes between protesters of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and the authorities in Islamabad.

He reaffirmed that the government was committed to ensuring the security of Islamabad’s Red Zone, which, apart from key state buildings, also houses foreign missions.

“You are very dear to us and your security is very dear to us,” Dar said in his address to diplomats.

He said that it was the government's priority to protect the capital’s Red Zone area.

“Our priority has always been to take care of the Red Zone, which has the Parliament, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, key federal institutions but most importantly, the diplomatic corps,” Dar said.

He said every effort was being made to ensure the Red Zone was free from protests or violence. Dar added that the government had enacted the ‘Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, 2024’ that barred demonstrations in the Red Zone and mandated permission from a magistrate for any public gatherings.

“If you want to do any peaceful protest in the Red Zone, there is a procedure. You have to apply to a district magistrate, get permission and hold your peaceful rally,” he said.

Asserting that the PTI has a history of holding violent protests, Dar said the party's demonstrations are held when foreign guests are visiting Pakistan and added that the protest of November 24 coincided with the planned visit of the Belarusian president.

He also said the party had announced that it would hold a protest on the occasion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) multilateral summit held on October 15-16 but postponed it later.

Earlier, the three-day protest by the PTI that began on November 24 paralysed Islamabad and ended after a crackdown by law enforcement agencies. The party accused the authorities of using violence and killing its workers.

Dar’s briefing to diplomats was apparently an effort to dilute the efforts by the PTI to highlight its narrative of civilian killings at the international level.

The PTI claims that at least 12 party workers were killed and hundreds injured due to the direct firing by law enforcers in Islamabad during the protest.

The government, however, insists that no PTI worker was killed from bullet wounds.