• Interior Minister says no one to allowed in Islamabad wearing militia dress
• Avers govt took decision to avoid any untoward incident which earned a bad name to country
• Declares ‘Khan will succeed in vote of confidence’
By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Friday said it had been decided that the security of Parliament House, Parliament Lodges, and old MNA House in Islamabad would be handed over to paramilitary Rangers and Frontier Corps (FC) on the day the National Assembly votes on the no-trust motion against the prime minister.
The minister’s remarks come a day after a police raid in the Parliament Lodges to expel members of the Ansarul Islam — the volunteer force of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) — who made it to the high-security zone to allegedly provide security to opposition lawmakers.
At least four legislators, along with two dozen Ansarul Islam volunteers, were arrested during the operation, all of whom were released today.
At the press conference in Islamabad today, Rashid warned of dealing anyone disturbing the law and order situation in Islamabad with an iron hand.
“I will trample those who take the law in their hands next time.”
He said the opposition was sensing defeat in the no-trust motion it had brought against Prime Minister Imran Khan “and that is the reason they are creating anarchy in Islamabad”.
The minister warned that he would not take into consideration the stature of a leader and take all-out action against anyone who disrespected the law.
But he added: “If we detain anyone [parliamentarian] for disturbing the law and order, we will also bring him to the parliament to cast vote on the day of the no-confidence motion.”
He predicted that the opposition’s “bad time is near”, saying they were involved in a “personal battle with Imran Khan, instead of a political one”.
“This is all being done to impede Pakistan’s progress and damage the balanced foreign policy that Pakistan has adopted under the premiership of Imran Khan,” he added.
Rashid recalled yesterday’s incident, saying law enforcement personnel had obtained search warrants with the permission of the National Assembly speaker in an attempt to avoid any untoward incident.
“Around 362 families live there [Parliament Lodges]. Of them, 53 are senators and 278 are MNAs. I don’t want to spread terror but we do not have some good reports as recently we caught a group from Bara Kahu planning terror activities in Islamabad,” he said.
He said the police still did not file terror charges against those who intruded Parliament Lodges. “There is video evidence that shows Senator Kamran Murtaza used extremely foul language against the police but the cops continued to calm him down.”
He was of the view that the opposition created a scene “as it lacks the required 172 numbers in the assembly to oust the PM through a the no-confidence vote”.
No one to allowed in Islamabad wearing militia dress
The minister said he had also directed police authorities and the Islamabad police chief to bar anyone wearing a militia dress from entering the capital.
“I will not spare anyone who comes to Islamabad wearing a militia dress. And what impression are you trying to give by bringing such people in?” he asked.
In response to a question, Rashid said he knew Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa since his college days, adding that “he [Bajwa] will stand with democracy.”
