ISLAMABAD: Pakistan authorities on Saturday called in the Army in Islamabad and Lahore to prevent rallies by supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, amid rising tensions.
The call for protest was given by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party founder who has been incarcerated at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail for more than a year.
The PTI is protesting for the release of Khan, to express solidarity with the judiciary, and against inflation.
Pakistan Army troops were deployed in Islamabad to ensure security as PTI supporters moved forward with plans for a protest.
The army would remain in the city from October 5-17 to maintain law and order for the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit. Pakistan is hosting the SCO summit on October 15-16.
The deployment came as PTI supporters led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur were moving ahead to reach the D-Chowk in the national capital to hold the protest. However, the convoy led by Gandapur faced intense police action as it approached Rawalpindi.
The police resorted to heavy tear gas shelling to disperse the protesters.
The 72-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician, Khan, refused to postpone the protest despite calls by the government.
According to the Dawn newspaper, Gandapur reached Islamabad on Saturday afternoon and was staying at the KP House. Large contingents of police and Rangers have entered the KP House to arrest Gandapur, it said.
The authorities have taken strict measures to stop PTI supporters from entering Islamabad or making it to the D-Chowk. All highways leading to the city have been blocked and pillion riding has been banned, while mobile phone services remain suspended for the second consecutive day.
The authorities also imposed Section 144, banning public gatherings, political assemblies, and demonstrations in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad to outlaw any political assembly or protest. The Metro bus services linking the twin cities were suspended. Police and paramilitary Rangers were also deployed to stop the protestors.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday warned, “Nobody will be allowed to disrupt law and order [in Islamabad],” directing the authorities to deal with the “miscreants” with iron hands.
Meanwhile, the authorities on Saturday cut off Lahore from the rest of the country to stop PTI supporters from holding a rally at the historic Minar-i-Pakistan.
The PML-N government called in the Pakistan Army to maintain the law and order situation in Punjab province, especially in its capital Lahore. All roads leading to the ruling Sharif family’s Jati Umra Raiwind Lahore residence were also blocked.
Hundreds of containers have been placed in different parts of the city and also at all entry and exit points.
A curfew-like situation has been created around Minar-e-Pakistan, which has also been closed for any general public entry for an indefinite period. A large contingent of police has also been deployed there.
The government has also suspended cell phone and internet services in different parts of Lahore.
The PTI has called Saturday’s protest a “do or die” situation.
The acting president of PTI Punjab, Hammad Azhar said people of Lahore will come out in droves and reject the government’s “fascism”.
He said the party also plans to celebrate Khan’s birthday on Saturday and pass a resolution for “Haqeeqi Azadi” (real freedom) at the Minar-i-Pakistan ground.
Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told a press conference in Lahore that he would not tolerate PTI’s “anti-Pakistan” protest. He said the PTI want to sabotage the SCO summit, which the government will not allow.
The Punjab government has so far picked up over 700 PTI workers in Lahore and elsewhere.
The government said the armed forces would maintain law and order and provide security to foreign delegates.
The armed forces and police will also be deployed around the airbase, airport, routes, venues and accommodation falling within the territorial jurisdiction of the Punjab.
“Exact contours of deployment of Armed Forces will be determined by the military commander on ground in consultation with the police commander. Armed Forces will be allowed to take such measures as warranted by the situation, including the use of firearms,” a notification issued by the Punjab government said.
According to Dawn newspaper, police on Saturday took multiple lawyers belonging to the PTI into custody from GPO Chowk in Lahore.
The law enforcers resorted to baton charge as well against the counsels protesting outside the Lahore High Court. One child is also among those arrested.
Meanwhile, in a post shared on Khan’s official X handle, the former PM urged “everyone to keep heading to D chowk”.
“I am also asking our people from Punjab to move towards Minar-i-Pakistan in Lahore. If they cannot make it there they must join the protests in their cities. This is a fight for Haqeeqi Azadi,” he said.
Amid clampdown on PTI, the Punjab Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Saturday claimed to have arrested 18 terrorists.
The CTD said the terrorists who have been arrested in Lahore and other districts of Punjab belong to ISIS, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Al-Qaeda. Some 5.42 kg explosives, 18 detonators, a 53-foot safety fuse wire, one IED bomb, pistols with bullets and banned literature were recovered from them.