No free hand this time, Khan!

• Interior minister says won’t hinder peaceful rally after due permissions but law will take its course if protesters attack state institutions
• Govt decides to deploy FC, Rangers for manning security at PTI rally on 30th, however, rules out passing ordinance for Red Zone’s security

While official sources say the government has decided against bringing an ordinance focused on Red Zone security, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has warned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to remain peaceful in its protest on November 30 to avoid a harsh action.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Nisar clarified that the government would not create hindrances in the way of a peaceful rally but would take matters into its own hands if the situation turns violent.

“If anyone wants to do a show of strength in Islamabad, we are prepared for it but if someone tries to create chaos then we are prepared for that too,” Nisar said, adding that the government would not hinder a political rally but a protocol needed to be followed and permission needed to be sought from the district administration.

The interior minister further said that within the next two days, the district administration will contact PTI’s leadership and decide the venue for the rally and agreement on certain conditions.

“If the PTI clarifies that they are holding a peaceful rally on November 30, the government will facilitate them and provide security. However, if they want to attack the government and state institutions then there should be no doubt that the law will take its course before the day of their rally,” Nisar warned.

Shifting his focus from arrangements of the rally to the rally itself, the interior minister lashed out at the PTI Chairman Imran Khan, saying, “As an interior minister, I am indifferent to the speeches and harsh language being used at the rallies but as a Pakistani I would say that I see less revolution in this movement and more chaos. How is standing on top of a container everyday and ridiculing others a revolution?”

However, a news channel reported late on Wednesday night that a meeting between Nisar and former Punjab law minister Rana Sanaullah at Punjab House had decided to launch a crackdown on PTI activists in Punjab and arrest district level leaders and supporters under 3 MPO.

TROOPS TO ASSUME CHARGE, NO NEW ORDINANCE THOUGH:

In the meanwhile, the government has decided to hand over the security of the Diplomatic Enclave in the federal capital to Frontier Corps and Rangers, however, it will not pass any new ordinance to stop the entry of the participants of PTI rally in the Red Zone.

The news about enactment of a new ordinance to stop the PTI rally was also denied in a meeting headed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The decision to bring in paramilitary troops was taken on the request of some diplomats, the Interior Ministry sources said. The Rangers and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel will be deployed for security in Red Zone but the military can be summoned if required, the sources added.

According to sources, 22,000 Frontier Corps (FC), police and Rangers personnel will perform security duty on 30th.

The military will remain deployed at the Presidency and the Prime Minister House in Islamabad while the security of the Parliament and the Prime Minister’s Secretariat has been handed over to the Rangers and FC.

Earlier, troops were withdrawn from the Parliament House and the Red Zone after the lifting of Article 245.

BETTER EQUIPPED THIS TIME AROUND:

Moreover, a top prime ministerial aide, having learnt from the experience of past three months, said that now the law enforcement agencies would be better equipped to handle the crowd if they attempted to break into the Red Zone.

The source said that security of key buildings would remain under the control of military personnel. To quarantine the PTI rally within a certain area, additional police and FC contingents will be sought from other provinces.

“Of course this time the government is not going to allow protesters to march freely down Constitution Avenue as PAT and PTI activists did in August,” the official said.

The government, according to another official, believes that with PAT workers gone, PTI activists will remain largely peaceful. However, he maintained, “This time nobody will be allowed to cross certain defined lines.”