The religious hardliners camped out at Faizabad had been unrelenting on their demand for the resignation of Law Minister Zahid Hamid over his alleged role in the amendment of the Khatm-i-Nabuwwat oath in the Elections Act 2017, which is apparently what led to the breakdown in the negotiation process.

The Elections Act 2017 — which paved the way for Nawaz Sharif to return as PML-N president — had become a cause of controversy when it was revealed that an oath regarding the finality of prophethood had been modified to a 'declaration' somewhere during the process of its passage. The government had claimed that the modification was the result of a clerical mistake.

The amendment in the oath which caused the controversy has already been reversed by parliament.

The Islamabad protesters belong to various religious parties, including the Tehreek-i-Khatm-i-Nabuwwat, Tehreek-i-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLY) and the Pakistan Sunni Tehreek (ST).

Deployment of LEAs

Security deployment in the capital had been beefed up since October 24, when the Ashraf Jalali faction of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah descended on the city and staged a sit-in in the Blue Area, which had ended on Nov 3.

According to media reports, the number of personnel deployed around the sit-in varies as per the situation. On average, a shift consists of 3,000-7,000 personnel.

Police also impounded over 200 containers to control access to the city as part of security measures. Five cranes and 10 trailers were also hired to move the containers around, while 19 water tankers – 15 of which were meant to refill water cannons and four to supply drinking water to on-duty personnel, had also been requisitioned.

Another 40 vehicles, including buses and wagons, had been engaged to transport personnel from their accommodations to the duty spot around the Faizabad.

Over the more than two-week-long sit-in, several cases had been filed against the protesters and the organisers of the sit-in. One of these included a murder case.

The protesters were also accused of beating up two photojournalists and several others during their sit-in.

Police had arrested around 150 participants over the course of the protests. The arrests had been made during clashes between law enforcement agencies and protesters, which broke out sporadically over the 17-day showdown between the state and religious hardliners.

With additional reporting by Hanif Samoon in Badin and Iftikhar Sherazi in Islamabad.