File photo, courtesy PID
Interim Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Tuesday reiterated his defense of police action against Baloch protesters in Islamabad last month, stressing the state cannot permit anyone to unleash violence and kill innocent people.
In an interaction with students of Lahore’s Beaconhouse National University (BNU), he once again responded to a question on the use of police force against Baloch families protesting in Islamabad against extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances. Stressing that no one would be permitted to unleash violence in the name of political, ethnic and religious strife, he said it was the state’s responsibility to ensure law and order. Such elements, he maintained, would never prevail in Pakistan.
Militants, he said, had openly declared their fight against the state and civilians, adding they would not be permitted to continue killing people with impunity. “We have accepted their challenge,” he said, vowing that all threats would be responded to forcefully.
“What has the government done wrong? The state enforces the law as it has to be enforced whether anyone likes it or not,” he said to a query on the use of water cannons against the Baloch protesters. Such measures are utilized globally, including in European nations, for crowd control, he said, reiterating his queries over why this had attracted so much criticism.
Maintaining law enforcers had only retaliated after being pelted with stones, he said all arrested individuals were subsequently released. Noting women protesters were still agitating outside the National Press Club, as per their right, he said they enjoyed complete freedom of expression as visible from their media interviews.
All protests and demonstrations, he said, must be within the limits of laws, as was also witnessed globally. If parameters are violated, he warned, then the government must enforce its laws.
This was the second time P.M. Kakar was questioned about the state action against Baloch protesters in as many days. In his first such interaction—during a press conference in Lahore—he had slammed “elements” backing armed militants under the guise of supporting Baloch protesters.