ISLAMABAD: Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad, Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, has requested additional personnel from Punjab police in preparation for PTI’s planned protest on November 24.
The request reportedly includes the deployment of two Deputy Inspectors General (DIGs), ten District Police Officers (DPOs), heavy contingents, shells, and elite force vehicles to ensure security and maintain order in the federal capital.
Punjab police have already stationed officers in Rawalpindi, Attock, Murree, and surrounding districts, and are considering sending more personnel to Islamabad in response to the situation.
To ensure public safety, Punjab police have also completed their preparations and designated focal persons for each district.
In a related development, Section 144 has been enforced in Rawalpindi due to concerns about potential unrest ahead of PTI’s protest.
The decision followed a meeting of the district intelligence committee chaired by Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Hassan Waqar Cheem. The imposition of Section 144 prohibits public gatherings, rallies, and assemblies of more than four people in Rawalpindi due to concerns over extremism and terrorism.
PTI’s founder, Imran Khan, has called for nationwide protests on November 24, adding to the tension. Meanwhile, the party has outlined its conditions for holding negotiations with the government to potentially withdraw the protest call. According to sources, PTI has demanded immediate relief for Imran Khan in exchange for halting the protest. These demands include the quashing of all “fabricated” cases against him and his immediate release.
One of the conditions set by PTI is that if legal proceedings delay his release, he should be transferred to Peshawar Jail. The party also called for the immediate release of other PTI leaders currently imprisoned.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur emphasized that negotiations would only begin after Imran Khan’s release.
Earlier in the day, in a strong stance towards the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) “do or die call” for protest on Nov 24, the Punjab government has decided to deal with the protesters as they do with terrorists.
Talking to journalists outside the Lahore High Court, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari said: “While they [PTI] might have plans A, B, and C, the state possesses the entire ‘ABC’.”
The Punjab minister’s remarks come in the run-up the PTI’s call for “do-or-die protest” and the party has started preparations for the protest, “outing as very significant.”
Talking about government’s strategy, Bokhari declared that on November 24, the government would respond to protesters in the same manner it deals with terrorists.