ISLAMABAD: Police on Thursday submitted its report in the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan regarding Faizabad sit-in by religious groups and admitted its failure to evict protesters from the site.
A two-judge bench of the apex court comprising of Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Justice Mushir Alam, was hearing a suo-moto case of the sit-in that blocked Faizabad Interchange, connecting Rawalpindi and Islamabad, for three weeks.
At the outset of court proceedings, police submitted a report having details of the botched crackdown against Tehreek-e-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLYRA) protesters.
The report sheds light on police incompetence to disperse the TLYRA activists from Faizabad traffic intersection. “The protesters provoked religious sentiments of police personnel making them hesitant to take action against the protesters,” the report revealed.
It disclosed that many of the police personnel had a soft corner for the TLYRA activists and supporters taking to roads for a religious cause.
The report explained that the security personnel remained deployed in the area for 20 days, as a result of which they were fatigued to a great extent.
It also criticized the electronic and social media for live coverage and providing real time information of the protest.
The police report revealed that the tear gas shells used by the personnel remain unaffected against the protesters due to the open area.
On the contrary, the protesters were armed with stones, pistols, axes, rods, teargas shells and masks, the report added.
The report disclosed that security departments lacked coordination which led to the failure of the operation whereas at least 173 police personnel sustained injuries during the operation.
Last week, the desperate government called out the army to control the chaotic situation in Islamabad after a daylong botched crackdown to disperse hundreds of activists and supporters of the TLYRA camped out at the Faizabad Interchange for over three weeks in protest.
