Pak government prepares for proposed protest by former PM Imran Khan’s party on Nov 24

Islamabad: Pakistan government has given a nod to the deployment of paramilitary forces in here to spruce the security from Friday ahead of a planned protest by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party on Sunday.

Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) gave a call last week for a long march to press for three demands: the release of the incarcerated party supremo, against the alleged “stolen mandate” during February 8 elections and restoration of judiciary by revoking the recent 26th amendment to the Constitution that granted legislators more power in appointing top judges.

The government has decided to deploy the Pakistan Rangers and Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel in Islamabad from Friday, November 22, onwards under Sections 4 and 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

According to a notification by the Interior ministry on Wednesday, the exact number of personnel and the date and area of their deployment would be “worked out in consultation with concerned stakeholders”, while the date of de-requisitioning of troops would be decided after mutually consulting all relevant stakeholders.

Earlier, the Islamabad police, in a letter dated November 14, had asked for deployment of Rangers and FC personnel ahead of the PTI rally.

According to the letter, the Islamabad police chief requested 5,000 Rangers personnel and 4,000 FC personnel “in addition to the 1,000 FC personnel already provided to ICT police.” The federal government already imposed Section 144 in the capital and banned all kinds of rallies for two months. Similarly, the Punjab government, which also exercises jurisdiction over Rawalpindi near Islamabad, placed police on high alert throughout the province.

Meanwhile, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram, briefing reporters at Peshawar, said that protest was a fundamental right. “Nobody can take it away from us,” he said, adding that governments do not threaten or bully their citizens like thugs.

He also warned to bring a sea of people to the capital on November 24 from across the country for the proposed long march to Islamabad.

Khan, 72, has been implicated in dozens of cases since his government was dismissed through a no-confidence motion in 2022. He has been in Adiala Jail at Rawalpindi since last year facing, according to his party, over 200 cases; got bail in some of them, convicted in some others, and hearings going on for some more.

Khan’s party won the largest number of seats in the February general elections despite contesting as independents as the party was denied an election symbol and the PTI chief has already alleged that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and its coalition partners, including Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had “stolen the mandate” to grab power at the federal level.

Relations between the PTI and the PML-N-led coalition government —already tense since Khan’s ouster in 2022 — have strained even more in recent times.