ISLAMABAD: The capital police are considering sealing the federal capital from Tuesday night.

A police official requesting not to be identified told Dawn that from Tuesday night 70 per cent of each entry road to the capital would be closed and after that only light vehicles can enter the city.

“It will become easy for the law enforcement agencies to check people entering the city,” he said.

As many as 5,000 officials of the Punjab police, 1,000 from the AJK police and 3,000 Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel will be deputed in the capital city to stop the participants of the march.

Also read: Citizens in twin cities stock up on food items ahead of Azadi March

He said the entry point to Red Zone from Radio Pakistan had been closed and people can only enter the high security area from the Convention Centre or the Secretariat sides.

“We are considering opening a route from Fazal-i-Haq Road to the Constitution Avenue which will be used for the movement of VIPs during the Independence Day celebrations on August 13 night,” he said.

The move will enable law enforcement agencies to check people entering the city

Meanwhile, security cameras are being installed at different places in the federal capital to check the movement of people and keep an eye on terrorists.

A camera has been fixed at Zero Point Interchange which can cover most parts of the nearby area.

Police confused about govt’s policy

The police are confused whether the government would allow the participants of the ‘Inqilab’ and ‘Azadi’ marches to enter Islamabad or not.

However, the district administration of Rawalpindi has suggested that the marchers should be stopped in their respective districts otherwise it would not be possible for the local police to prevent them from reaching Islamabad.

Earlier, the government had decided to allow the PTI workers and its leadership to march on Islamabad and stop PAT’s ‘Inqilab’ march.

However, the situation took a new twist after Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri announced that his ‘Inqilab’ march would move side by side with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)’s ‘Azadi’ march.

“It would be impossible for the police to identify PAT workers and PTI’s political workers if they march together,” a senior police officer said, requesting anonymity.

Another police officer added that the government was not clear how to deal with the participants of the marches.

“Sometimes it says Pakistan Awami Tehreek workers should not be allowed to move towards Islamabad and then it says they should be allowed.”

On the other hand, the police have chalked out a security plan to prevent the marchers from reaching Islamabad by deploying more than 10,000 police personnel in Rawalpindi.

As part of the security measures, 70 entry points will be blocked with containers filled with sandbags.

Besides, barbed wires would also be placed on roads in Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Chakwal.

Of the 70 entry points, 36 are located in Rawalpindi district, nine in Attock, five in Jhelum and four in Chakwal.

To beef up the security, extra police personnel have also started reaching Rawalpindi. Of the 4,000 extra police, 600 personnel have been called from the railway police, 800 from the Punjab Constabulary, Sihala Police College and other districts.

The police have been focusing on Attock as it is borders Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The KP government would provide full support to the PTI workers who are coming to Islamabad.

The roads will be sealed off at Haro Bridge, Margalla, Tarnol and all the interchanges.

Published in Dawn, Aug 12th, 2014