ISLAMABAD: In a bid to prevent potential unrest during the upcoming jalsa of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) and the district administration have decided to effectively isolate the venue from the rest of federal capital, officials revealed.
According to sources responsible for maintaining law and order, containers will be placed around key areas of Islamabad to separate the city from the rally site. The measure aims to avoid any spillover of violence from the PTI activists during or after the event. “The capital city will be detached from the rest of Islamabad by strategically placing containers to ensure peace amid threats of possible violence from PTI activists,” the source said.
To bolster security, a heavy deployment of law-enforcement personnel, including police, rangers, and paramilitary forces, will be stationed at the rally venue and across the capital. These forces will be on alert to counter any potential violence stemming from the PTI gathering, officials added.
The decision comes in response to intelligence reports suggesting the possibility of disruptions by the PTI activists, prompting authorities to take preemptive steps to safeguard public order and prevent possible clashes.
Hundreds of containers have been transported and positioned on roads leading to the venue of PTI public meeting. “The containers are being set up at key points along the routes leading to the venue to ensure that roads are effectively blocked,” sources disclosed, adding that “this is part of broader security arrangements to prevent potential violence by PTI activists.”
Approximately 7,000 personnel from law enforcement and security agencies would be deployed across the federal capital to maintain peace, according to officials. Authorities have confirmed that the security detail would include 4,000 police officers and 3,000 personnel from the Frontier and Punjab constabularies, who have been brought in from neighbouring provinces.
In addition, the city’s sensitive Red Zone will be heavily fortified with containers, while rangers and police commandos will be stationed to safeguard the Diplomatic Enclave and critical installations housed within the zone.
In a related crucial development, President Asif Ali Zardari signed a bill into law on Saturday to regulate holding of public assemblies at certain places in the federal capital, Islamabad. With the assent of President Zardari, “The Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, 2024” has been enacted as a law. With the official gazette notification, as an Act No XIX of 2024, it comes into force at once.
The private member bill, ‘The Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill, 2024’ was originally moved in the Senate by senators Irfan Siddiqui, Saleem Mandviwalla, Samina Mumtaz Zehri, Syed Faisal Sabzwari and Umer Farooq, while in the National Assembly, Daniyal Chaudhry moved the bill for passage.
After the passage of the bill to regulate public gatherings in the federal capital, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan requested the Islamabad administration not to obstruct their jalsa as they had already obtained a no objection certificate from the district administration.
Talking to the media on Saturday, he complained that two of the PTI workers, coming for the jalsa, had been arrested so far. “We inform the Islamabad police that this rally will be peaceful; the rally will be held at 2pm on Sunday, and we will try to end the rally on time,” he said while giving details of the jalsa.
Barrister Gohar said the rally had started before the jalsa, as the party workers had started arriving in the federal capital. “All our rallies will converge at the venue of the public meeting,” he said, adding that “I could not go to Adiala jail because of the rally in Islamabad. I will meet the PTI founder on Monday.”
He requested the federal capital administration to cooperate with the rally management if the allotted time exceeded by one or two hours.
Meanwhile, Additional District and Sessions Judge (ADSJ), Rawalpindi, Muhammad Waseem Anjum, Saturday directed the district police to ensure enforcement of the law and prevent harassment of workers ahead of the PTI rally on Sunday (today). The court also ordered that no obstacles should be placed on the designated routes leading to the rally venue. These orders were issued in response to a petition filed by the Insaf Lawyers Forum.
The petition, which named the SHOs of all police stations, including the Rawalpindi CPO, as respondents, stated that the PTI had announced a rally in Islamabad, with participants expected to join from across Pakistan.
The Forum stated that the Rawalpindi police were planning measures to prevent workers from attending the rally, through roadblocks and mass arrests. It stated that as the largest political party in the country, PTI had the right to hold peaceful gatherings, and requested the court to direct the police to refrain from erecting barriers and arresting workers.
In response, the court instructed the CPO to ensure that the PTI workers were not harassed and that all designated routes to the rally venue remained unobstructed. The court disposed of the petition after issuing the necessary orders.
However, the local administrations of Rawalpindi and Islamabad disregarded the court orders, by installing barricades, containers and barbed wire on major roads to block the PTI workers from reaching the rally site.
Key points in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, including Faizabad, Murree Road, Zero Point, and the Expressway, have been blocked by the authorities concerned, causing significant disruption and creating a difficult situation for residents.