Paramilitary soldiers stand guard at the Red Zone area, which has been barricaded with shipping containers, in anticipation of a protest rally by Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in Islamabad on November 24, 2024. — AFP
Pakistan's capital was placed under a security lockdown on Sunday in preparation for protests by supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who are demanding his release. Highways leading to Islamabad, through which Khan's supporters, led by members of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, are expected to approach the city and gather near the parliament, have been blocked. Most major roads in the city have also been obstructed by the government using shipping containers, and large contingents of police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in riot gear. Mobile phone services have been suspended, and gatherings of any kind have been banned under legal provisions, according to a statement by the Islamabad police.
Global internet watchdog NetBlocks reported on X, formerly known as Twitter, that live metrics indicated WhatsApp messaging services had been restricted ahead of the protests. A key Khan aide, Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, is expected to lead the largest convoy into Islamabad. He called on people to gather near the entrance of the city's red zone, known as 'D Chowk'. The red zone houses the country's parliament building, important government installations, as well as embassies and foreign institutions' offices.
'Khan has called on us to remain there until all our demands are met,' Gandapur said in a video message on Saturday. The PTI's demands include the release of all its leaders, including Khan, and the resignation of the current government, which they claim rigged the election this year. Khan has been in jail since August last year and, since being voted out of power by parliament in 2022, faces multiple charges ranging from corruption to instigation of violence. He and his party deny all the charges.
'These constant protests are destroying the economy and creating instability... we want the political leadership to sit together and resolve these matters,' said Muhammad Asif, 35, a resident of Islamabad, in front of a closed market. The last protest in Islamabad by PTI in early October turned violent, resulting in one policeman killed, dozens of security personnel injured, and protesters arrested. Both sides accused the other of instigating the clashes.
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