ISLAMABAD: The authorities have removed containers from the motorway linking Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Islamabad on Sunday.
However, heavy contingents of policemen and FC personnel are present on the roads to prevent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers from reaching the federal capital.
In a late-night development, a spokesperson for the ministry of interior said the prime minister had issued directives for removal of all barricades on highways linking KP to Punjab.
The spokesperson claimed the barricades had been placed on the motorway on Friday night after a mob of armed people had tried to enter the federal capital. Clash ensued when police tried to stop these people on the Attock Bridge.
He said the armed men ran away on arrival of reinforcements, and all barricades on the motorway linking KP to Islamabad were being removed after the situation became normal.
On Saturday, the police had placed shipping containers at Rashkai Interchange and Khairabad Bridge. The Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway was closed at the Swabi Interchange while barricades had also been placed at Mardan and Nowshera roads.
Additional contingents of police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel have arrived outside Imran Khan’s residence in Bana Gala on Sunday to deal any form of agitation.
Armed Personnel Carriers (APCs) have also been deployed on Korang Road.
Khan has claimed that anti-government protest on November 2 would bring a million people onto the streets and sit-ins would force the closure of schools, public offices and the main international airport in Islamabad.
His latest challenge to Sharif’s government is based on leaked documents from the Panama-based Mossack Fonseca law firm which appears to show that his daughter and two sons owned offshore holding companies registered in the British Virgin Islands. Whereas, Sharif’s family denies wrongdoing.