The Islamabad Capital Territory administration on Saturday blocked D-Chowk with barbed wires and cement block and removed a protest camp for the recovery of missing persons from the Red Zone as the capital police moved to comply with the interior ministry's directives.
Recently, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had directed Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Bani Amin and Chief Commissioner, Islamabad, Tariq Mehmood Pirzad to ban the holding of protests and other public gatherings inside the Red Zone. During the meeting, Malik had said that if any public rally was held inside the Red Zone, the Superintendent of Police (SP) and the Station House Officer (SHO) concerned would be held responsible and violators of the ban would be dealt with strictly.
However, hundreds of women on a call from Majlise Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) and Imamia Students Organisation (ISO) on Thursday staged a demonstration to protest against the killings in Gilgit-Baltistan at D-Chowk. A senior official of police said that no one would be allowed to hold a rally or protests inside the Red Zone.