ISLAMABAD: Nearly 20,950 police personnel from Punjab and Sindh are being mobilised to the capital ahead of the PTI Islamabad march planned for September 27, police sources said Tuesday.
Punjab is expected to send 19,000 officers and personnel, while a 1,950-member Sindh Police contingent is due in Islamabad on Tuesday night. The federal government had requested 23,000 personnel from Punjab, according to the same police sources.
Accommodation arrangements have also been completed for personnel from Punjab, Sindh and the Frontier Corps. Authorities are welding rows of shipping containers at different locations and positioning them near key roads and entry points ahead of the planned mobilisation.
Islamabad Police have meanwhile detained six PTI lawmakers, including Senator Saifullah Niazi and MNAs Sanaullah Masti Khel, Mian Ahsan Jamal, Dawar Kundi, Ghaus Muhammad and Adil Bazai. Reports say authorities detained them under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance and moved them to Jhelum Jail.
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The Islamabad High Court has ruled that no political party or public office holder has a lawful right to occupy roads, highways, interchanges, toll plazas or buildings in a way that obstructs citizens’ movement or access to essential services. The ruling does not amount to a blanket prohibition on peaceful political protest.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said Monday that the party would proceed with the September 27 march and described it as a peaceful exercise of its democratic and constitutional rights.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the federal government would implement the court’s directions and would not allow Islamabad to remain shut for an extended period because of demonstrations. He also said the government intended to develop a “permanent solution” for recurring protest-related disruptions.
