Four killed, 262, including a PML-N MNA, injured; government claims protesters have 'contacted India'

At last the federal government launched a crackdown on protesters on Saturday to end 20-day-long sit-in of Tehreek Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYR) that left four dead while around 262 others injured, but the mob stood its ground due to poor planning and mismanagement on part of the government.
The Faizabad Interchange, which has been occupied by the protesters, turned into a virtual battlefield as severe clashes erupted in the morning between law enforcement agencies and the protesters that later spread to other parts of the twin cities - Rawalpindi and Islamabad - as well as other cities of the country, forcing the government to suspend the operation till devising a further strategy.
Following the expiry of midnight deadline, which the district administration had given to the protesters to vacate the Faizabad Interchange on Islamabad High Court's order, the Islamabad police aided by Frontier Constabulary (FC) and Rangers launched a crackdown in the morning. However, it resulted in a miserable failure at the eleventh hour when the FC personnel were just a few hundreds yards away from the camp where the TLYR main leadership including Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi was present.
All the forces had to retreat following a severe resistance from the protesters' side despite use of heavy teargas shelling, rubber bullets, batons and water cannons, besides scores of arrests. Talking to Business Recorder, a number of police and FC personnel complained that the main reason of their retreat was the absence of their high-ups on the spot as well as poor planning of tear gas shelling.
"The protesters' leadership is well there on the spot to mobilize them. Tell me can you see a single senior officer behind us to give instructions?...Retreat was the only option when our own tear gas shells were hitting our forces badly due to poor strategy," said the policeman on condition of anonymity.
A senior district administration official, when contacted, said, "We have called a meeting to determine the reason behind failure of the today's operation as well as to chalk the next strategy."
Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, while talking to the state-run television channel, claimed that the protesters have 'contacted India' and are in possession of resources being used against the state, and that the government is investigating the matter. "They are not average citizens. We can see that they have various resources at their disposal. They have fired tear gas shells...they also cut the fiber optic cables of cameras that were monitoring their protest," he said.
"Why they did it, we are looking into it. They have inside information and resources that are being used against the state," he further maintained, adding that the administration is acting upon the court's orders. He further said that the government made all peaceful efforts, but it was forced to act as the group has not budged from its demands. "We are trying to clear the area with minimum force, but we also need to ensure the fundamental rights of people of twin cities," Ahsan added.
The daylong clashes in parts of the twin cities resulted in the killing of four persons, including a policeman in Rawalpindi, whose dead bodies were shifted to different hospitals of the city including DHQ Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Holy Family Hospital. There were reports from Rawalpindi that protesters have virtually took Benazir Bhutto Hospital under their control and they also did not allow the dead body of a policeman to be shifted to the hospital.
A spokesperson for the PIMS said that it had received 178 injured including 69 policeman, 57 FC personnel and 52 protesters as well as ordinary citizens. While 84 persons including police personnel and protesters were brought to different hospitals of Rawalpindi.
During the crackdown, law enforcers arrested over 350 protesters from Faizabad and adjoining areas and shifted them to different police stations. In retaliation, protesters pelted police with stones while it was also witnessed that some protesters were carrying and using tear gas shelling guns on police apparently snatched from them. Several journalists, photographers and cameramen also received injuries during clashes.
Till ?Saturday evening?, clashes continued on Murree Road Rawalpindi where gunfire shot were heard in Faizabad surroundings as protesters stormed the residence of former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Metro Bus station. The protesters also set on fire 26 vehicles, including police prison vans, police mobiles and a DSNG of a private TV channel, a petrol station and a plaza.
There were also unconfirmed reports of resignation of Law Minister Zahid Hamid when the protest demonstrations spread to other parts of the country. Severe clashes among police and protesters were witnessed on different roads of the twin cities, including Taramri Chowk, Khana Pul, Bharakahu, Murree Road, Dhoke Chaudrian Road, Soan Bridge, 6th Road Flyover, Expressway, Katcheri Chowk, Lehtrar Road, Rawal Road, Rawat (GT Road), and Tarnol (GT Road). Following these clashes, the aforementioned roads and the Motorway were blocked for all kinds of traffic, which resulted in severe hardship for common citizens.
An official of security agencies told Business Recorder that strength of protesters was around 6,000 at Faizabad interchange while it was around 2,000 at the time of launch of the operation. According to an official of district administration, over 8,500 security personnel including police, FC and Rangers have been deployed for the operation. However, Punjab police did not take part in the operation but only retaliated to the protesters when they started damaging the government and private properties.
NNI adds: Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Javed Latif was wounded as protesters belonging to religious parties clashed with security forces on Saturday in the federal capital. Reportedly, the parliamentarian was shifted to District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital for medical aid.