ISLAMABAD-PTI chief Imran Khan hasn’t announced the date of long march yet but the federal government has already started flexing its muscles to prevent any foreseeable situation which could cause any turbulence for the government.
Standby containers placed at major entry and exit points of the capital were causing apprehension among the citizens of twin cities. Daily commuters within the twin cities are concerned about their safe return to home every day. When asked, a daily commuter said, “I travel from Bhara Kahu to F-8 daily, I get anxiety because of these massive number of containers in front Convention Center, what if the roads are blocked on my way back home from work.” Upon contacting, DC Islamabad Irfan Memon, he said, “All the major entry and exit points of the city are open and commuters don’t have to worry about anything.”
Containers have been placed on the order of interior ministry ahead of the expected long march by PTI towards Islamabad.
PTI chief Imran Khan has already ordered the party to provide lists of 6,000 members from every district. He has been calling it the final march towards Islamabad. Islamabad High Court on Monday had advised the party to obtain permission from district administration. Interior Minister Rana Sana Ullah said in a statement on Tuesday that he presided over an important meeting today which was attended by IGs and chief secretaries of all the provinces. All the participants have been assured of adhering to the law in case of any attempt to besiege the capital. No one can be allowed to paralyse the state machinery by force.
Ali Nawaz Awan, MNA from Islamabad said, “Right to assemble is the constitutional right of the citizens. Government should place containers in the Red Zone if they have security concerns instead of scaring the daily commuters of the twin cities.” Regarding statement of Interior Minister, he said, “Rana Sana Ullah is a funny guy, why should we take him serious if he can’t even visit his own constituency.”
Islamabad has constantly been under siege of political parties and religious outfits since 2013. Tehreek-e-Minhaj ul Quran (TMQ), a religious outfit led by Dr. Tahirul Qadri, staged a sit-in on Constitution Avenue of Islamabad in January 2013. The sit-in was called off in four days after negotiations with the government inside a bullet-proof container. In 2014, PTI and TMQ staged a sit-in at D-Chowk Islamabad which lasted for 126 days. Another religious outfit, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan, staged a sit-in at the entry and exit points of Faizabad for 21 days. Government was forced to take resignation of the then law minister Zahid Hamid to end that protest as a deal. JUI-F staged a sit-in in 2019 for 13 days which blocked the Srinagar Highway.
All these protests and sit-ins had implications on twin cities. Offices were closed, revenue lost, and citizens had to take alternate routes everyday which resulted in waste of time and money. Vegetable and fruit markets had shortage of supplies since containers were taken for blocking major streets and Red Zone. International leaders cancelled their visits to Pakistan. Pakistan is facing one of the biggest floods in history, economy is in shambles and terrorist outfits have also started to resurface in major KP cities as well.
–The writer is a freelance
contributor.