ISLAMABAD: The capital administration and police have claimed that they had to use force against participants of the sit-ins on the direction of a federal minister.

“We had planned to trap the protesters and asked them to reach the Prime Minister House from Fourth Avenue. This was aimed at getting the Constitution Avenue vacated and trapping the marchers on Fourth Avenue,” officials in the police and capital administration told Dawn on the condition of anonymity.

They said the PAT leadership was approached and asked to direct the participants of the march to use Fourth Avenue to reach the PM House. The information was also brought in the knowledge of the minister. However, after the announcement by PAT leadership to relocate the sit-in to the PM House, the protesters marched towards the Cabinet Division instead of following the suggested route, the officials claimed.

When the minister was informed about the development, he asked the police and the administration officials to intercept the protesters at any cost. But the police and administration officials refused to use force. Later, the SSP Islamabad met PAT leaders who assured him that the participants would remain peaceful.

As a result, the police asked the marchers to vacate the area in front of the Cabinet Division and move to the Secretariat Chowk. In the meantime, the protesters removed some containers lying in front of the Cabinet Division and the President House and some of them even entered the buildings.

As a result, the minister reprimanded the police and the administration and once again asked them to get the buildings vacated. The minister himself reached the spot and encouraged the police to use force against the marchers even though he was informed that the buildings had already been vacated, the officials claimed.

They added that due to use of excessive teargas shelling and rubber bullets, some of the protesters entered the Parliament House and took shelter there.

It may be noted that after his appointment, former IGP Aftab Cheema developed serious differences with the interior minister.

The former IGP spent 45 of his first 90 days in the office looking after his business in the US, the officials said.

On August 15, he was reprimanded by the minister for not stopping the protesters from entering the capital city.

Later, at a meeting, the prime minister also showed his displeasure over the police performance and as a result the IGP applied for leave of two months which was approved on August 17.

However, Mr Cheema claimed that he was removed from the post for not using force against the protesters.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2014