• Naqvi asks PTI to defer demo till 17th; Fazl advises to wait until foreign dignitaries leave; Punjab governor says nothing wrong with a little delay
• Over 300 containers on Islamabad roads; M1 motorway blocked at Burhan
• Gandapur vows to reach D-Chowk today, come what may

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: On the eve of the main opposition PTI’s planned march on Islam­abad, both government and opposition figures urged the party to put off its demonstration at D-Chowk for a couple of weeks due to the presence of foreign dignitaries in the capital for high-profile engagements, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organ­isation (SCO) summit later this month.

In case the PTI refuses to change its mind, the government said it has finalised preparations to stop the protesters and placed almost 300 containers on the entry and exit points of the capital, while around 6,000 police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in and around Islamabad.

In contrast to the federal capital, Lahore — where the PTI has announced a demonstration at Minar-i-Pakistan on Saturday — will have security pickets to round up protesters.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called on the party to defer its protest in Islamabad until Oct 17, declaring that politics at the cost of national interest would not be allowed.

He said the Malaysian prime minister was in the city and a protest at this time could bring bad repute for the country, adding that foreign delegations, including those from China and Saudi Arabia, would be arriving in the federal capital soon as the SCO summit was scheduled for Oct 15 and 16.

“Those who get caught will not be shown any leniency,” Mr Naqvi said, adding that it was unbecoming of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to support such actions.

In a similar vein, JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who sits on the opposition benches, advised the PTI to delay its demo till such a time when foreign dignitaries on a visit to Pakistan have left. “We should not take such steps that convey a negative message,” he added.

Punjab Governor Saleem Haider Khan also advised the PTI to abandon its protest for the sake of national dignity. “There is no issue if the protest is delayed for a few days for the sake of the country’s dignity… Decisions should be taken beyond political and personal interests,” he said while speaking at an event in Islamabad.

Postponement linked with amendment

Sources told Dawn that PTI chief Imran Khan was relayed a message through CM Gandapur to postpone the protest. However, the PTI founder responded that his party would put off the demo if the government agreed to postpone the constitutional amendments till Oct 25.

CM Gandapur conveyed this message to the powers that be but allegedly received no response. On the other hand, the PTI seemed in no mood to back off, with CM Gandapur, who also heads the party’s KP chapter, all set to leave for Islam­abad in the morning.

In a video statement, he vowed to reach Islamabad’s D-Chowk at any cost. “We will reach Islamabad according to the directions of Imran Khan despite violence and barricades erected to stop us,” he said.

He said that party workers from Peshawar and southern KP would reach the Peshawar Motorway interchange at 10am, while supporters from the rest of the province would gather at the Swabi interchange.

In Swabi, Abdul Karim Khan, special assistant to the chief minister for industries, told Dawn that PTI workers on their way to Islamabad would carry food, water and other items to deal with the possible tear-gas shelling.

In a bid to stop the protesters from reaching the capital, the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway, also known as M-1, was closed for all kind of traffic near the Burhan interchange, according to an official of the National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP).

The authorities also placed a diversion on Grand Trunk Road near Hassanabdal and only light vehicles could traverse the road while heavy traffic would not be allowed to use the road.

An employee of one of the major transport companies told Dawn that their buses that had left for Islamabad in the afternoon returned to Peshawar due to the M-1 closure. Besides, he said the GT Road was also closed for traffic.

Crackdown intensifies

The crackdown on the PTI intensified in Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Friday, as the police picked up over 400 suspects, including 14 from Bhara Kahu, and recovered ‘slingshots’ and ‘marbles’ from their possession. Rawalpindi police officials have also been asked to report back to duty after their leaves were cancelled.

The police also stepped up raids against the PTI leaders and workers nominated in the six cases registered with the police after the party protested in Rawalpindi on Sept 8.

In a late-night development, pillion riding was also banned in the federal capital for two days.

In Lahore, the Punjab home secretary imposed Section 144 for six days from Oct 3 in a bid to foil the PTI protest on Saturday. Sources said the government was not going to place containers at the entry and exit points of Lahore. Instead, they would establish pickets where the rangers and police would intercept protesters.

“Since the government has imposed Section 144, the police have been authorised to arrest protesters,” a source said and added the government’s action in Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, and Mianwali on Wednesday had given a strong message to the PTI to keep Lahore ‘calm and peaceful tomorrow’.

Manzoor Ali in Peshawar, Aamir Yasin and Mohammad Asghar in Rawalpindi, Ikram Junaidi, and Kalbe Ali in Islamabad and Muqqadam Khan in Swabi also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2024