VIDEO: Status of PTI protester pushed off container, confirmed

Days after a viral video showed a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protester being pushed off a container in Islamabad, Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has broken silence on his whereabouts and current condition.

A viral video from PTI’s violent protests in Islamabad showed a man, namely Tahir Abbas Tarar, “offering prayer” atop three containers set up to block access to D-Chowk. The video also showed the man being pushed off by security personnel, falling down as the crowd looked on.

With the video drawing strong reactions from party leaders and the general public alike, netizens also expressed serious concerns over the incident and demanded an official update on Tahir’s current condition.

After widespread criticism aimed at the government and law enforcement, and claims that the victim “fell to his death”, Information Minister Tarar has put an end to speculations.

“Propaganda claimed that a person was offering prayers when he was killed by pushing him [off the containers]. He is a resident of Mandi Bahauddin, and is alive,” the minister said, adding that Tahir had received injuries on his arms and legs.

The info minister also said that the man from the video was “not offering prayers” and was actually “recording a TikTok video”. He, however, did not disclose any further details.

Meanwhile, a man claiming to be Tahir’s brother, Naveed, has said that his family has been “abducted”.

Confirming that Tahir had survived the fall with a fractured arm and leg, Naveed alleged that his family had now “gone missing”.

The same was also claimed by the PTI in a post on its official social media handles.

“His [Tahir’s] family members have now been abducted from their home in the village. There are concerns of coercion to extract statements and suppress the truth with expectations that the public will blindly accept the authorities’ narrative. This incident is just an example of the scale of the ongoing state repression,” PTI said, adding that it was an example of the “brutality” that “unfolded on Nov 26” at D-Chowk.

Tahir is among the dozens of protesters who sustained injuries in violent clashes between the PTI and law enforcement during the former’s three-day protests in and around the federal capital.
Confusion prevails on the total number of casualties at the protest, amid conflicting claims from the camps of both the government and PTI.