ISLAMABAD - Tension remains high in the federal capital as the city has been put on high alert ahead of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) long march starting from Lahore tomorrow.
The PTI chief has announced a long march towards Islamabad, demanding the government to call fresh general elections. On the other hand, the government has also started preparations to stop the PTI marchers from entering Islamabad by deploying thousands of security personnel. Hundreds of shipping containers have been placed near important points of the city so that the way towards the Red Zone could be blocked for Imran’s supporters.
According to the interior ministry, the authorities have decided to deploy around 30,000 police, Rangers, and paramilitary troops in Islamabad and not allow protesters to enter the Red Zone near the parliament building, President House, Prime Minister House, ministers’ offices, Supreme Court building, parliament, and other important buildings, including foreign embassies, are located in the Red Zone.
The government has already decided to call out the Army to assist the civil administration in security. The ministry has also deployed Frontier Constabulary (FC) while police from Sindh province will be called out to assist the Islamabad capital police, according to the plan devised by the government to block the PTI march.
It is to mention here that the other two provinces of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, bordering the capital, are being ruled by Imran Khan’s PTI.
At present, Imran Khan is riding an unprecedented wave of popularity. Earlier this month, he won six of the seven National Assembly seats in the by-elections. PTI’s Asad Umar on Wednesday approached the Deputy Commissioner Islamabad seeking permission for the public rally at the ground between sector G-9 and H-9 along the Kashmir Highway.
Amid a political conflict between the government and the PTI, former prime minister Imran Khan also faces imminent arrest under some criminal charges. On 25 May, the police had used brute force, tear gas and baton-charged the PTI leaders and workers to deter them from moving towards Islamabad as part of the “Azadi March”, especially in Lahore and Karachi.
The provincial capital witnessed violent clashes between the PTI workers and the riots police, as the administration had blocked all exit points of the city, leading towards Islamabad. The police also arrested dozens of PTI leaders and workers including Andleeb Abbas, Mian Mehmood ur-Rasheed, Jamshed Iqbal and Senator Ijaz Chaudhry.