• Officers say 27 teams constituted to take 1,500 hardcore supporters into custody
• Majority of workers go into hiding
• AJK police conduct raids and pick 26 people in Muzaffarabad

ISLAMABAD: The capital police have prepared a list of over 1,500 leaders and workers of the PTI in Islamabad to arrest them so that they could not participate in the party’s protest on Sunday (today).

Police officers told Dawn that the list contained the names of 1,539 PTI leaders and workers along with their residential addresses and mobile phone numbers. The list has been given to the police station concerned for their arrest.

These people are considered hardcore and active leaders and workers of the PTI and have the potential to arrange large assemblies of people. These leaders and workers can gather at different localities, including the high security zone and may engage the police to divert their focus from security of the entry points.

They said of the 1,539 leaders and workers, 409 were residing in the City Zone of police, 456 in Saddar Zone, 212 in Industrial Area Zone, 236 in Soan Zone and 226 in Rural Zone.

The concerned area police were asked to arrest them immediately. So far the police have arrested 15 of the leaders and workers of the PTI, including four women. The officers said that four of them were arrested by Rural Zone, three by City Zone and two each by Saddar and Soan Zone, adding a majority of people in the list had gone into hiding to avoid arrest.

Besides, the police also arrested 37 other workers of the PTI — 15 by Rural Zone, 10 by Industrial Area Zone, eight by Soan Zone, and four by City Zone.

About 27 police teams were constituted to arrest the leaders and PTI workers, they said. By Saturday evening, the police had arrested a total of 52 leaders and hardcore workers of the PTI, including 15 from the list.

Besides, the police also arrested 350 other workers of the party. PTI leader Nafisa Khattak and a nephew and brother-in-law of Amir Mughal were among the arrested persons.

Meanwhile, the capital police also registered three cases in connection with the PTI’s protest — one each at Shahzad Town, Banigala and Sihala police stations.

The Sihala police registered a case under section 7 of ATA, section 8 of Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act 2024 and sections 353, 506-ii, 342, 186, 148 and 149 of PPC against two nominated and 325 unidentified people. According to the FIR, the suspects were armed with iron punches, iron rods, batons and pelted vehicles with stones and blocked Kahuta Road besides resorting to aerial firing and chanting anti-government slogans.

The Shahzad Town police registered a case under section 7 of ATA, section 8 of Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act 2024 and sections 342, 148, 149, 353 and 186 of PPC against two nominated and 400 unidentified people. The suspects also pelted vehicles with stones at Lehtrar Road and chanted anti-government slogans.

The third case was registered at the Banigala police station under similar charges against two identified and 380 unidentified people.

Security plan

The capital police chalked out a plan to counter the PTI’s protest which included blocking roads/points with containers and deploying personnel besides making arrests and digital surveillance.

Security Division will be responsible for the security of all key points, foreign installations, Diplomatic Enclave, Presidency, Prime Minister’s House, PM Secretariat, Foreign Office Nadra headquarters, State Bank of Pakistan, Parliament House, Cabinet Blocks, Pak Secretariat, Judges Enclave, Ministers’ Colony, Supreme Court, Election Commission of Pakistan and all buildings in the high security division and its entry points.

The Operations Division will be responsible for pickets, patrolling and to control security/law and order. The Traffic Division will be responsible for parking arrangements, smooth flow of traffic, Special Branch is responsible for advanced intelligence while the Logistics Division will be responsible for providing vehicles/prisoner vans, handcuffs, tear gas and water cannons.

As per the security plan, 6,325 officers and officials along with 21,500 to 5,000 Rangers, 5,500 FC, 9,000 Punjab police and 2,000 Sindh personnel have been deployed in the capital.

About 1,200 containers are being used to block the entry points and roads in the capital.

As many as 15 points – Kati Pahari Nicholson Monument, Paswal near E-17, Fatehjang Road near Naughazi, Margalla Avenue at Sangjani, Bridge loop at Chungi No 26, Shah Allahditta, E-11 interchange, Sinyari, Daman-i-Koh, China Chowk, Express Chowk, Faizabad, Bhara Kahu Shahpur turn, Tramri and Rawat T-Cross – have been blocked with containers. Moreover, 4,500 personnel have been deployed at these points.

Container catches fire

A fire broke out at a container placed beneath Khana Bridge to block Islamabad Expressway on Saturday evening. Sources in the police said the container was loaded with goods and the police had hired some workers to weld and attach it with another container when it caught fire. Rescue 1122 was called to put out the fire.

Muzaffarabad

In an overnight crackdown, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) police arrested dozens of PTI leaders and activists, including some elected councillors, to prevent them from organising or joining rallies headed to Islamabad, sources within the party and the administration said on Saturday.

In Muzaffarabad district alone, 26 persons were arrested during raids across different neighbourhoods and peripheral areas. The detainees included prominent figures such as Khawaja Atif Bashir, Chairman of the Imran Khan Release Committee, Councillor Hamid Jamil, Mazhar Awan and Sardar Mazharullah, Tariq Dar.

Police also raided the residence of Leader of the Opposition in AJK Assembly Khawaja Farooq Ahmed in Lower Plate but he had already moved away. Police also cordoned the residence of retired Justice Sardar Habib Zia in Shaukat Lines in search of his elder brother, PTI regional president and former Prime Minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi. However, they had to leave empty-handed after being informed that Mr Niazi was not in Muzaffarabad.

The crackdown extended to Jhelum Valley district, where 30-40 PTI activists were detained, according to Zeeshan Haider Kazmi, PTI’s regional vice president.

Mr Kazmi claimed that police had raided his house in Chinari on Friday night, allegedly harassing and misbehaving with his family. He added that authorities had placed obstacles such as boulders on the main Jhelum Valley Road and were allowing passage to Muzaffarabad only after scrutinizing travellers to ensure they were not PTI workers.

Despite these measures, Mr Kazmi said that most PTI workers had quietly crossed into Garhi Habibullah in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for their onward journey to Islamabad.

“We are determined to reach Islamabad by all means,” Mr Kazmi asserted.

Sources within the administration and police said the arrests had been made under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law. However, officials avoided responding to media inquiries regarding the exact number of detainees.

In a video message, PTI regional president Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi condemned the raids on the homes of party leaders, describing them as a violation of privacy and household sanctity.

“Peaceful protest is our democratic right, and the fascist actions of Chaudhry Anwarul Haq led government are further destabilising the state’s environment,” he said.

“Let it be clear that these oppressive measures will not intimidate or demoralize PTI workers, all of whom are resolute in responding to the call of their courageous leader, Imran Khan.”

Mr Niazi also criticised those who campaigned in Imran Khan’s name in the last AJK elections, calling on them to feel ashamed. “We will hold Anwarul Haq fully accountable at the right time,” he vowed.

Tariq Naqash contributed to this story from Muzaffarabad

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2024