ISLAMABAD: The Sindh police have been tasked with escorting all dissident members of the PTI to the National Assembly on Sunday (today) to appear in the proceedings for the vote of no-confidence, sources told Dawn.
The sources in the police and the administration said reports gathered by intelligence agencies had showed that the Singh police’s Special Security Unit (SSU), which was present in the Sindh House, would escort the 22 dissident MNAs of the PTI to the National Assembly.
The decision was made by the senior leadership of the opposition parties, they added.
The Sindh police will transport the dissident lawmakers of the ruling party to Parliament House in a box security. The lawmakers of the opposition parties will receive them at one of the gates of the parliament and will take them to inside the hall of the National Assembly.
The dissident parliamentarians are staying in three different buildings in the Red Zone, including Sindh House and a hotel, they said.
When contacted, some senior officers of the capital police showed displeasure and resentment over it. They said they had told some leaders of the opposition parties that it was their (police) responsibility to provide security to them.
They told them that they had constituted three teams, comprising officials of the Counter-Terrorism Department, Anti-Terrorism Squad and paramilitary troops, to transport the dissident members of the PTI to parliament.
“Red Zone has been sealed. It has been declared ‘No-Confidence Park’ where all lawmakers from the ruling party, their allies and opposition parties besides the dissident MNAs can move freely.”
Intelligence collected from different sources revealed that the dissident members of the PTI were vulnerable to attacks while moving to parliament, the officers said. The officials said security of Parliament Lodges, Sindh House and a hotel, where the lawmakers of the opposition parties, PTI dissidents and parliamentarians of former allies of the government were staying, had been strengthened.
Paramilitary troops have also been deployed there, they said, adding entry to Parliament House will also be restricted on Sunday to ensure the security of the lawmakers.
Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2022
