Pakistan opposition party demands probe into protest crackdown, Balochistan operation

Pakistan opposition senator, Kamran Murtaza, has called for an immediate Senate discussion on last week's deadly crackdown on opposition protests in Islamabad and the government’s recent military operation in Balochistan.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) lawmaker submitted two motions late last week, seeking urgent parliamentary attention.

Murtaza described the protests from November 24 to November 26 at Islamabad’s D-Chowk square as a "serious law and order situation." He blamed "poor handling" by government departments for casualties during the crackdown, according to a calling attention notice he filed Thursday.

In a separate motion under Rule 218, filed Friday, Murtaza criticized the National Action Plan apex committee’s decision to launch a military operation in Balochistan. He called the decision "massive" and demanded Senate scrutiny of its implications.

"The situation in both Islamabad and Balochistan requires urgent attention from the upper house to address these crises," Murtaza said.

  

The decision to launch operation in Balochistan was taken "without taking into confidence the Parliament," Murtaza wrote in the motion, referencing a Dawn newspaper report about the operation's approval published November 20. The planned action targets banned groups including the Balochistan Liberation Army and Balochistan Liberation Front.

Competing narratives

The government and opposition have presented starkly different accounts of the last week's deadly protest launched by main opposition party PTI for the release of its jailed leader, Imran Khan. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar claimed protest leaders, including Khan's wife Bushra Bibi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, fled before security operations began. PTI maintains its leadership remained with supporters until forced to disperse.

"Where is the police or post-mortem report?" Tarar challenged earlier this week, suggesting PTI fabricated civilian casualties for political gain. He alleged Bushra Bibi "wanted bodies" to advance the party's agenda.

A PTI spokesman rejected these allegations as baseless, calling November 26 "one of the darkest chapters in the nation's history" and accusing security forces of using live ammunition against peaceful protesters.

Operation under conflict

The military operation in Balochistan Murtaza is referring to was initially approved during a November 19 meeting of the Federal Apex Committee of the National Action Plan, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir and other senior officials.

The decision followed one of the deadliest waves of militant attacks in years. In August, at least 73 people were killed in coordinated assaults on police stations, railways, and highways across Pakistan's largest and most resource-rich province. The Balochistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for these attacks, which targeted critical infrastructure, disrupted rail services, and blocked major transportation routes to cities like Quetta and Gwadar.

During the meeting, Gen. Munir affirmed the army's commitment to eliminating security threats, stating, "The Pakistan Army remains resolute in ensuring the safety of our people and sovereignty of our nation."

Parliamentary oversight

Murtaza's call for immediate Senate debate highlights growing opposition concern about executive overreach in security matters.

"This is a massive decision, which was taken by the Apex Committee without taking into confidence the Parliament," the senator wrote, demanding urgent debate under Rule 218.

The Senate has not yet scheduled debate on either motion, but Murtaza's initiatives represent the first formal parliamentary challenge to both the protest crackdown and the Balochistan operation. They come as opposition parties increasingly question the government's use of security forces for domestic law enforcement.

JUI-F's intervention is significant as the party, while in the opposition, has maintained a more measured stance toward the government than the PTI.