LAHORE - Mid-ranking leadership and active organisers of PTI Islamabad lockdown plan can be picked up anytime from their respective towns and districts as the authorities concerned have given a green light for it, official sources told The Nation yesterday.

However, top leaders of the PTI would not be touched until it becomes unavoidable for the government, added the sources.

The sources, quoting the civilian intelligence agencies’ preparations for bailing the government out of the Imran Khan threat, told the paper lists of around 5,000 PTI leaders and workers from Punjab who are directly involved in organizing Islamabad lockdown plan have been prepared. Nearly 350 of the list of 5,000 belong to the provincial capital.  The list has been divided into five categories – parliamentarians, office bearers, former ticket holders, district leaders and key workers organizing the Islamabad lockdown plan.

Though the civilian intelligence services advised the government to follow policy of restraint until it becomes unavoidable to use force to maintain writ of the law, they prepared Plan-B to neutralise Imran’s threat at districts and towns of the organizers of the Islamabad lockdown plan, the sources added.

More than two senior civilian security officials requesting anonymity told the paper Imran Khan and senior PTI leaders can also be detained, but the orders on this count can come from the highest level according to their convenience and decision.

The law enforcers and civilian intelligence wings made their preparations to deal with any untoward situation that could emerge as a result of PTI’s Islamabad lockdown plan, they claimed.  A civilian agency officer told the paper that he has written in his proposals it would be better to contain the PTI leaders organizing the lockdown plan at their respective towns and districts before they could lead to Islamabad.

On the contrary, PTI leaders claimed crackdown against their leaders and workers has been launched across Punjab after police torture on ISF activists’ convention in Islamabad where Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Asad Umer were also present.

Senior officials of the Punjab government, denying the claims of PTI leaders, told the paper no orders have been made so far to launch crackdown, but admitted they are prepared and could carry out such orders when ordered.

Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly and PTI senior leader, Mian Mehmood-ur-Rasheed, claimed his office was raided by the police.

According to PTI top leadership strategy for Islamabad lockdown plan, the party leaders from centre down to districts will not sleep at their homes in the decisive phase of the move for Islamabad lockdown plan to avert arrests. Senior party leaders have been directed to reach the federal capital on October 31, using safe passages to avoid arrests.

They have also been directed not to use their cell phones, especially in the last week of the current month when they plan to move to the federal capital. Party leaders and key workers organizing the lockdown plan have also been directed to siege the police stations in which party activists moving for Islamabad would be detained.

To deal with possible confrontation with the ruling party activists and law enforcers, boys from KP have been called to lead the main force of the party on the day of Islamabad lockdown, added the party insiders.