Highways blocked, paramilitary deployed, hospitals on alert: Islamabad turns into fortress ahead of PTI march

The PTI march is scheduled for September 27

Pakistan on Wednesday blocked major highways leading to the capital, Islamabad, and deployed tens of thousands of security personnel ahead of a march planned by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) seeking the release of its founder and jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.“Nearly 35,000 additional police and paramilitary personnel have been stationed in and around Islamabad,” Reuters quoted an interior ministry official as saying.“More have been deployed in other parts of Pakistan where Khan’s supporters may gather,” he added.Two major highways linking Islamabad to the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, governed by PTI, have also been closed until further notice, the National Highways Authority said.Shipping containers have been placed in recent days to barricade Islamabad’s government district, home to parliament, the prime minister’s residence and foreign embassies.Authorities have already put hospitals in Islamabad, including the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and Federal Government Polyclinic Hospital, on high alert until September 30.Police have also detained three of Khan’s sisters and hundreds of party activists in recent days, citing the need to maintain public order.On Monday, Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, warned that police had been told to respond “forcefully” if the march turned violent, adding, “It is not like they come and fire shots and you do nothing.”The march is scheduled for September 27.

PTI refuses to back down

However, PTI chairman Gohar Khan declared that the march would proceed despite the blockade.Khan, 73, was ousted as prime minister by parliament in a 2022 no-confidence vote. Cases against the cricketer-turned-politician, whose arrest in 2023 sparked nationwide riots, ranged from allegations involving state gifts and inciting violent attacks on military and state installations to an accusation of an unlawful marriage. All but one of his convictions have since been suspended or overturned, with appeals pending. He denies wrongdoing.The PTI’s planned march comes more than a month after the government defied a court order and refused to allow Khan to receive treatment at a private hospital, despite mounting concerns over his health.The protest also comes amid public discontent over inflation and rising fuel prices that has spread beyond Khan’s core supporters.The PTI’s previous large-scale protest, two years ago, ended in deadly clashes with security forces.