PM aide Rana Sanaullah says deaths of PTI protesters do not reach ‘double figures’

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political and Public Affairs Rana Sanaullah has said that the “official number” of deaths of PTI workers in the Islamabad protest did not reach double figures, as compared to the various figures coming out from the party.

A day of pitched battles between security forces and PTI protesters across the federal capital ended in a hasty retreat of the party’s top leadership and supporters from the Red Zone in the early hours of Wednesday.

At least six lives were lost in the three days of protests, which included a policeman and three Rangers officials who were knocked down by a speeding vehicle, officials and hospital sources said. Claims and counter-claims over deaths purportedly caused by law-enforcement action against the PTI marchers remained a major bone of contention between the government and the opposition party on Wednesday.

Speaking in an interview on ARY News programme ‘11th Hour’ on Thursday, Sanaullah said: “I think the official number is around four to five. Three dead bodies were confirmed who had funerals, according to reports. There could be two or three more. But double-figures are not observed.”

Sanaullah said the PTI’s claims about the alleged death toll would cause a backlash for the party.

“The kind of perception that PTI leaders are making, that is not possible. The reason for that is there might definitely have been some loss [of life] as six to eight personnel of law enforcement agencies were martyred so it is no big deal if political workers were hit.”

He claimed that “15,000-20,000” protesters were brought from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by PTI leaders, saying “damages” from the crackdown operation might have been high enough as the figures being quoted by the PTI if the demonstrator had remained at the protest venue.

Sanaullah said PTI leaders fled when the shelling began despite attempts by workers to stop them.

“No such violence happened there that would have caused 20, 100, 200 or more deaths. This is PTI propaganda.”

He added that the call for the protest itself was wrong. “PTI founder put the party, workers and the leaders in an awkward situation where they could not have been successful.

“Even without the crackdown, the protesters would have been there for two to three days,” he said, adding, “They had no arrangements. What would they have done after reaching D-chowk?”

Sanaullah’s remarks regarding the deaths of PTI protesters mark a divergence from the claims by the government and its ministers so far.

A day ago, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said both major hospitals in the capital — Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and Polyclinic — had denied receiving any bodies or people with gunshot wounds.

Besides, he added, the Ministry of National Health Services also issued a statement denying the PTI’s claim that its workers were killed in security forces’ firing. The minister stated that a list circulating on social media regarding the death of protesters had been declared fake.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has also categorically said that there was no loss of life in the law enforcement action taken to disperse marchers.

Normally, after any major incident such as a terrorist attack, natural disaster or other such happening, health authorities and institutions issue official lists of the number of dead and injured people who were brought to hospital.

But this time around, healthcare authorities have not issued any such lists, and information being shared by journalists and social media users seems to be based on anonymous reports with nothing concrete to back them up.

Whenever the issue of protesters’ deaths was raised before him, Tarar always asked, “Where is the proof?”