Murad Saeed commanded 1,500 'miscreants' in PTI protest, says interior ministry

The Ministry of Interior has claimed Murad Saeed commanded 1,500 'miscreants' in PTI's Islamabad protest.

The ministry in its statement issued here on Sunday condemned the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for its alleged social media campaign aimed at inciting unrest and spreading disinformation domestically and internationally.

The ministry accused PTI protestors of responsibility for the deaths of one police officer and three Rangers personnel during recent demonstrations. 

Additionally, the ministry claimed that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government violated court orders by fully utilizing its resources to fuel the protests. It also accused the province’s Chief Minister of making inflammatory statements against state institutions using the platform of the provincial assembly.

According to the statement, the violent protests included illegal Afghan nationals who, alongside the trained demonstrators, allegedly employed militant tactics against law enforcement. Murad Saeed, identified as leading the group, was accused of being present during the attacks.

The Interior Ministry clarified that police and Rangers personnel refrained from using live ammunition during crowd dispersal. It further stated that the Pakistan Army was not deployed for riot control and did not participate in the operation.

Instead, it accused armed guards and protestors accompanying PTI leadership of engaging in indiscriminate firing.

The ministry criticized the PTI leadership for fleeing the protest scene instead of intervening to control the situation. Following the dispersal operation, federal ministers for interior and information visited the affected areas and addressed the media.

The ministry alleged that PTI launched a coordinated social media campaign to falsely accuse law enforcement agencies of causing casualties. However, it claimed that these allegations were refuted by major hospitals in the federal capital.

The statement also referenced a directive from the Islamabad High Court on November 21, instructing the federal government to maintain law and order and advising the Interior Minister to engage with PTI leadership to address the escalating tensions.