ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi warned the government would take stern action against anyone involved in violence in Islamabad ahead of a protest by former prime minister Imran Khan’s party today, Friday, with mobile phone services suspended and all major roads leading to the Pakistani capital blocked.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party plans to protest against the government’s proposed constitutional amendments in Islamabad that it says are aimed at granting it more power in making key judicial appointments and curtailing the independence of the judiciary, a charge the government denies. The PTI is also protesting for his release from prison.
Khan’s party held protests in Faisalabad, Mianwali and Bahawalpur cities on Wednesday that resulted in clashes between police and supporters of the ex-prime minister. Social media footage showed police involved in scuffles with Khan supporters and firing tear gas shells at them.
Almost all roads leading to Islamabad from the twin city of Rawalpindi and other areas were closed since late Thursday, while mobile phone services were suspended early Friday morning hours after Naqvi said the government would not demonstrate any leniency toward protesters engaged in violence.
“The PTI is a Pakistani political party and not a political party of another country,” Naqvi told reporters, adding that Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who arrived on Wednesday, would be in Islamabad till Friday.
“If a foreign head of state is in Pakistan and you are planning to charge at Islamabad, this is not acceptable.”
A high-level Saudi delegation and the Chinese prime minister are due to arrive in Islamabad, and the multilateral Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit is scheduled to be held in Pakistan this month, according to the minister.
He said the government would ensure foolproof security conditions for the Malaysian prime minister and take stringent measures to maintain his security.
“We will not let there be any decrease in the protocol or prestige of the Malaysian prime minister,” Naqvi said. “Then we will also have to consider the security arrangements.
Regarding that, none of us have any leniency or second thoughts.”
The interior minister reminded the PTI that Section 144, a legal provision that allows a ban on the gathering of four or more people on account of security threats, was already imposed in Islamabad.
“As a Pakistani, it is my obligation to say that protest is everyone’s right and you should do it,” he said. “But don’t do it at a price because of which your country gets defamed or God forbid, even a minor incident takes place during the Malaysian prime minister’s movement due to which we will keep on paying a price for all times to come.”
The garrison city of Rawalpindi, which borders the federal capital of Islamabad, remained tense last Saturday as police fired tear gas shells to disperse hundreds of Khan supporters ahead of a protest in the city to demand the release of Khan, who has been in jail since August last year on multiple charges that he says are politically motivated to keep him and his party out of politics.
After a PTI rally in Islamabad on Sept. 8, over a dozen legislators from the party were arrested on charges of violating an agreement based on which permission for the gathering was issued, including abiding by a time limit and supporters sticking to certain routes to reach the designated venue for the rally on Islamabad’s outskirts.
Khan’s party says the challenges in holding rallies are part of an over-year-long crackdown it has faced since protesters allegedly linked to the party attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after the former premier’s brief arrest the same day in a land graft case.
Hundreds of PTI followers and leaders were arrested following the riots and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military, which says Khan and his party were behind the attacks, has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.
Khan, who has been in jail since last August, was ousted from the PM’s office in 2022 in a parliamentary vote of no confidence after what is widely believed to be a falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military, which denies being involved in politics.
