As the PTI hordes descended on Fatima Jinnah Park in Islamabad’s F-9 sector, it became clear that public gatherings outside of the high-security zone could be pulled off without inconveniencing the citizens of the federal capital too much.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, who had earlier opposed the idea of letting the PTI gather in F-9, finally acceded after a mid-flight discussion with Imran Khan. But the minister’s original peeve was forced gatherings at D-Chowk, which have been a thorn in the government’s side following the dharna that was staged outside Parliament House by the PTI and Pakistan Awami Tehreek in 2014.

On March 31, he announced that his ministry had proposed a ban on all forced entries into the Red Zone. The minister said the proposal would be laid before the cabinet and, until it was approved by parliament, there would be a complete ban on using D-Chowk as a venue for rallies by political and religious parties.

The instructions came on the heels of another sit-in, one by religious parties and groups sympathetic to Mumtaz Qadri, Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer’s assassin who was executed earlier in the year.

Background discussions with police and capital administration officials revealed that on both occasions – the PAT/PTI dharna and the recent sit-in by religious parties – rallies had primarily come from Punjab. But while the PTI and PAT rallies originated in Lahore, the recent Sunni Tehreek-led gathering had assembled in Rawalpindi.

On both occasions, police officers told Dawn, there were no clear and proper directions from the government over how the rallies should be handled. It was this indecisiveness that allowed both rallies to penetrate the high-security zone, because by the time the orders came, it was too late to do anything.

“If the people in power wanted the rallies stopped, they should have had them intercepted at their point of origin. But the government remained confused on both occasions,” an official said.

Ahead of the sit-in, authorities met with the PAT and PTI leaderships before they reached Islamabad.

“When demonstrators started moving from Kashmir Highway towards Constitution Avenue, the police and administration was told by the government not to intercept them,” another source said.

It was only later that the interior minister’s staff directed senior police officers about police deployment. But since the inspector general at the time disagreed with the minister’s view, Chaudhry Nisar cut him out of the loop and began to meet with SSPs and SPs directly.

On August 22, 2014, the minister called another meeting without the inspector general, and in response the IGP sent a message to the interior minister, saying that if his services were not required, it would be better to post him out.

“As a result, he was posted out on the same day,” the source said. He recalled that afterwards, even the SSP had showed his reservation about the use of force against the protesters as they started marching towards Prime Minister House on August 30, 2014. He too was removed for his troubles.

Both officers are still facing the music for daring to question the interior minister.

This experience made the police and administration wary, so when religious parties moved on Islamabad, “first we were not allowed to use force and our mob-management tools were also taken from us,” a police official said.

It was only when the rioters reached the China Chowk metro bus station and vandalised it that the police received orders to intercept them. But by then, it was too late. “In the absence of anti-riot equipment and adequate manpower, it was impossible to intercept everyone.”

Officials insist that the government and the concerned ministry should develop clear policies and issue proper directions. “How long will police and the administration continue to be a scapegoat for government confusion,” an officer asked.

Interestingly, even before the interior minister’s announcement banning protests at D-Chowk, law enforcers realised the need for a concrete law to keep protesters out of the Red Zone.

As a result, an ordinance called the Establishment of High Security Zone 2014 was drafted by security officials and sent to the chief commissioner, who forwarded it to the law ministry. However, even this effort seemed to be in vain, as the draft was ignored by the government.

Those privy to the development say that the proposed law fell through not because of procedural problems, but because of its political implications. “The ruling party figured that if this proposal was made into a law, every political party that was in the opposition would suffer due to it,” a source said.

It’s not like the Islamabad police and administration have not had any success against angry and violent mobs before. In September 2012, police were able to contain the protests against ‘Innocence of Muslims’, a blasphemous film that triggered outrage across the Muslim world.

In December 2010, hundreds of residents of the twin cities blocked the Expressway due to low gas pressure for domestic consumers, but the situation was managed by the police, which intercepted the mob at Faizabad.

Earlier, in March 2010, protests broke out against a hike in passenger vehicle fares, but no one was allowed to enter the city from Bhara Kahu or Faizabad, where there was considerable violence.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2016