The government has put tight security in place in the capital, Islamabad, ahead of the march announced for September 27 to demand the release of former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan. The main roads into the capital have been closed, large numbers of security personnel deployed and containers placed at various points.
From Wednesday evening, police closed the Islamabad-Peshawar motorway, the Islamabad-Dera Ismail Khan motorway and parts of the Grand Trunk Road. People have been advised to change their travel plans. It was not immediately clear how long the roads will stay closed.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced a march on Islamabad on September 27, demanding the release of Imran Khan, who has been in prison since August 2023. His party says the cases against him are politically motivated. Several of his convictions have since been suspended or overturned on appeal; one remains in force.
About 2,000 shipping containers have been placed at entry points to the capital to stop the march. Containers and sandbags have also been placed on several key bridges between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. About 30,000 security personnel have been deployed in Attock district alone, according to reports.
The government has urged the PTI to reconsider. Interior minister Mohsin Naqvi warned the party that nothing would be achieved through such a programme and that there is still time to change its decision. The PTI says peaceful protest is its constitutional right and that it will press ahead with its demand for Imran Khan’s release.
The detention of members of Imran Khan’s family before the march has further heightened tension. A separate Al Jazeera report said that after Imran’s sister Aleema Khan was detained in Lahore, his two other sisters, Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi, were also detained. Their detention orders cite public safety.
There are also concerns about Imran Khan’s health. Citing problems with his right eye, the PTI has raised questions about his treatment and medical examinations. Al Jazeera reported that in August Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered him moved to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad, but he was instead taken to the government-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and returned to prison within hours. The government said doctors had examined him and declared him medically fit, and that the hospital was changed for security reasons. The PTI rejects that explanation.
Earlier reports said that, beyond roads and security, hospitals in Islamabad have also been put on standby for possible emergencies, with instructions to prepare extra beds, blood and emergency capacity. Such measures show the risk of violence is being taken seriously, though they do not mean major clashes or deaths will necessarily occur.
With the main roads into Islamabad closed, thousands of security personnel deployed, key routes blocked with containers and the PTI vowing to go ahead, Pakistan’s political situation around the September 27 march is now highly sensitive. How the government and the PTI handle the day will be the next key test.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report