Relatives of APS victims barred from Red Zone

WebDesk September 2, 2016 2 minutes read

ISLAMABAD: Around 60 protesters, including parents of children killed in the Dec 2014 Army Public School massacre in Peshawar, arrived in the capital on Thursday, but were not allowed to enter the high-security Red Zone.

The protesters were angry because the commitments made to them had not been honoured, and planned to register their protest by demonstrating outside parliament. However, the group was stopped at a picket at Khayaban-i-Suharwardy, Gul Sher – one of the grieving parents – told Dawn.

This did not go down well with the protesters, who chanted slogans against the government and threatened to self-immolate if anyone tried to stop them from meeting the prime minister.

Shortly afterwards, the Red Zone was partially sealed and senior police officers and administration officials reached the scene to negotiate with the protesters.

The protesters were taken to the Islamabad Chief Commissioner’s office for further talks, but to no avail. The protesters insisted on speaking only to the prime minister, saying they had reservations with the government’s failure to order a judicial inquiry into the incident, as announced by the president.

After making no headway, the protesters headed to Kashmir Highway and staged a sit-in near Zero Point.

Here, they were met by CADD Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, who assured them they would be allowed to meet the PM next week and persuaded them to call off their protest.