ISLAMABAD - As Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is planning to hold a big show today to mark the one-month completion of its sit-in in Islamabad; the federal government has geared up its efforts to flop the show apparently after losing patience and its failure in talks.
Friday was a very significant day in the capital as the government kept on arresting the PTI and PAT workers, registering different cases against them, confiscating motorcycles on charges of pillion riding etc. On the other side, the top leadership of the PTI remained engaged throughout the day pushing their office bearers from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to bring more people in Saturday's crowd to 'celebrate the One-Nation Day'.
PTI insiders informed that it was likely that the PTI chairman would make some important announcement including the formation of an alliance with Liaquat Jatoi and Mumtaz Bhutto from Sindh. Imran is focused to increase presence of his party in Sindh like Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, they added.
An official of the PTI's media wing said that PTI Punjab President Ijaz Chaudhry had held, the other day, a meeting in a local hotel with all party's officer bearers of Punjab including district level hierarchy to ask them to bring people in today's show from every district and constituency.
He also said that PTI's Islamabad President Amir Mughal and another senior leader Ali Nawaz Awan, under the directions of party chairman Imran Khan, are mobilizing the workers especially youth to ensure their maximum presence in the sit-in from Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). He said that Imran Khan had directly asked PTI President Azam Swati to mobilize workers and students from Khyber Pakhtunkhaw. Insaf Students Federation (ISF) had been asked to bring students in the sit-in and it is likely that the students of difference universities and medical colleges would come today from Khyber Pakhtunkhaw, he added.
However, according to an insider of PTI, the chief minister KP and the provincial ministers had been directed to arrange the people to bring them to the sit-in for today.
On the other hand, the government during a crackdown launched in the wee hours of Friday arrested a number of PTI as well as PAT workers to flop Saturday's show and discourage the people from joining the sit-ins.
It all started when Ministry of Interior Thursday issued a security alert mentioning the security agencies that some terrorists were part of the protest sit-ins. Soon after this, the district administration imposed a ban on pillion ridding under Section 144 PPC from Thursday midnight. On Friday, the police under the special directions kept on chasing the pillion riders and confiscated a number of motorcycles.
The sources in the federal government aware of the development said the ban on pillion riding had been imposed to discourage the youth to become part of the PTI protest. A local PTI leader said that police has raided in various parts of the capital to arrest their workers.
However, police officials on condition of anonymity were of the view that only those persons had been arrested that had been found allegedly involved in the last week's attack on PTV building. The police in collaboration with National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has started tracing such persons with the help of the footage of CCTV cameras installed inside the PTV building. A source in the ICT administration said that police would place more containers today in different roads of the city including Islamabad Highway, Bahara Kahu Road, IJP Road, etc to restrict the movement of people towards the sit-in.
PTI's Central Information Secretary Dr Shireen Mazari Friday condemned the arrest of DJ Butt in the early hours of Friday morning from the Guest House where he was staying along with different party workers from different parts of Islamabad. "This is sheer government terrorism as no law has been broken by D J Butt who merely looked after the sound system at the Azadi dharna (sit-in) of PTI," she said.
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