Centre asked to call back troops deployed after May 9 mayhem

By
Ahmed Subhan
|
PTI party activists and supporters clash with police during a protest against the arrest of their leader, in Islamabad on May 10, 2023. — AFP
PTI party activists and supporters clash with police during a protest against the arrest of their leader, in Islamabad on May 10, 2023. — AFP 

  • Military was called in Punjab, KP and Islamabad on May 10. 
  • Violent protests had claimed at least eight lives, injured dozens.
  • Chief commissioner of Islamabad says situation in capital "satisfactory".


The Punjab government and the Islamabad administration on Saturday asked the interior ministry to call back the Pakistan Army troops a month after they were deployed in a bid to deal with the law and order situation following former prime minister Imran Khan's arrest on May 9. 

On May 10, the military was called in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad to maintain the deteriorating law and order situation after the protests erupted countrywide. 

The nearly three-day-long protests also claimed at least eight lives and injured dozens of others with the incumbent coalition government suspending internet services and deploying army troops to maintain law and order situation.

In a letter to the Ministry of Interior, the chief commissioner of Islamabad said that the situation in the capital was "satisfactory". 

“The situation is now satisfactory in the ICT (Islamabad Capital Territory) and it is, therefore, requested that the requisition made vide the referred letter may be de-notified, in the best interest of the public,” the letter said. 

Similarly, the Punjab government also withdrew the order for the deployment of armed forces in the province.