ISLAMABAD – Interior Minister Brigadier (retd) Ijaz Ahmed Shah hints atcalling Pakistan Army in the capital Islamabad as a last resort to dealwith the protesters.
He has said that at first it was the responsibility of provinces to stopthe anti-government ‘Azadi March’ of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and thefederal government would deal with it if the protestors entered the capital.
Talking to a private TV channel about the possible lockdown plan ofIslamabad by JUI-F Chief Moulana Fazlur Rehman, he also said the policewould stop the marchers from entering the Red Zone of the capital. However,the last option of calling the army could be used to deal with theprotestors.
About the responsibility of provinces to deal with the anti-governmentprotest announced by JUI-F a day ago, the minister was of the view that itwas the responsibility of provinces to deal with the law and ordersituation under the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
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He reminded that Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) had beenenforced in the Red Zone and no one would be allowed to enter there. Thesection 144 empowers district administration to prohibit an assembly ofmore than four persons in an area for a specific period of time
