• Opposition leader accuses forces of using Nato weapons to target marchers
• Asif refutes allegations, challenges PTI to launch civil disobedience campaign

ISLAMABAD: On the opening day of the National Assembly’s winter session, the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday reiterated its call for a judicial probe into the alleged killing of its workers during the Nov 26 protest at Islamabad’s D-Chowk.

Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan accused Prime Minister Sheh­baz Sharif of issuing an “order to kill”, alleging that security personnel emp­loyed lethal weapons provided by Nato for counterterrorism operations.

As usual, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif took the floor to respond to the opposition leader’s speech and refuted all accusations of the opposition, criticising it for using the “provincial card” to build up its false narrative.

The session began with fateha offered for the security personnel and protesters who lost their lives during the Nov 26 showdown.

The opposition PTI took a surprisingly subdued tone by opting to participate in the proceedings rather than disrupting it, marking a departure from its past behaviour, when even on minor issues, its members had sparked loud protests and disruptions.

Earlier in the day, the PTI, in a statement issued after a parliamentary party meeting, had announced that its members would lodge a strong protest in the National Assembly over the alleged use of brutal force against the party by the government.

As it was the first sitting after the Nov 26 episode — when PTI workers led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and former first lady Bushra Bibi had to retreat from Islamabad’s Blue Area due to a crackdown — everyone in the Parliament House galleries was expecting to see noisy proceedings.

However, they were surprised to see the opposition members silently listening to the firebrand defence minister, who also made some personal attacks on the opposition leader.

In the past, the opposition had several times disrupted the proceedings through noisy protests, even on petty matters, to make their point.

Wearing black armbands, several PTI members were seen entering the assembly hall carrying portraits of the party’s founding chairman Imran Khan and different placards inscribed with anti-government slogans. However, they only hung these placards and posters in front of their desks and participated in the proceedings calmly.

Apparently, it all happened due to a government-PTI understanding, which was evident from the announcement made by Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah at the opening of the sitting that he would give the floor to the opposition leader and the government members as per the agreement reached during the House Business Advisory Committee before taking up the 40-point lengthy agenda that had been issued for the private members’ day.

The deputy speaker, however, had to adjourn the sitting until Wednesday morning (today) without taking up any agenda item due to a lack of quorum pointed out by a PTI MNA Iqbal Khan, who registered his protest over the chair’s refusal to give him the floor to speak on the point of order.

Opposition leader’s speech

Taking the floor as the first speaker, Omar Ayub Khan demanded that an “impartial judicial commission” be constituted to ascertain “who fired the bullets and who gave the order to the security forces to open fire on peaceful and unarmed protesters”.

“The hands of [PM] Shehbaz Sharif are stained with blood of Model Town [Lahore] and Nov 26 victims,” alleged Mr Khan, stating that it was PM Shehbaz who ordered the forces to open fire on the PTI protesters.

Providing the data, Mr Khan claimed that 12 PTI supporters were killed, whereas more than 200 were still missing and could be placed in the category of “presumed dead”. Besides, there were thousands of injured PTI supporters who were unable to get treatment at hospitals due to fear of being arrested, he said.

He also claimed that nearly 5,000 party workers were presently under police custody. He alleged that the record of Islamabad hospitals had gone missing, and the families of the deceased were being asked to sign affidavits that their loved ones had met an accidental death.

Highlighting the alleged ethnic profiling, Mr Khan accused the government and Islamabad police of targeting Pakhtuns following the PTI protest. He described how he, Mr Gandapur and Bushra Bibi evaded arrest and fled through a narrow road on Margalla Hills connecting the federal capital to KP, bypassing checkpoints and barricades.

He also alleged that the government tried to assassinate Mr Gandapur through snipers posted atop buildings. He criticised the federal government for sending Rangers officials to KP without seeking prior approval from the provincial cabinet.

He said Imran Khan had constituted a negotiation committee, which was ready to talk to anyone. However, he said, talks would take place only after the release of the party’s detained workers and leaders, announcing that the party had the right to launch a “civil disobedience movement”.

Govt’s response

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif refuted all the allegations levelled by Mr Khan and termed his speech a lie and full of contradictions. He condemned the PTI for using the “provincial card” to further its “anti-state agenda”.

He challenged the PTI to launch a civil disobedience movement, stating that it would fail like the party’s previous three attempts to march towards Islamabad.

He recalled that Imran Khan had also given a similar call in 2014 and burnt some utility bills, but the people rejected his call.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2024