Pakistan warns PTI against Islamabad march over jailed Imran Khan
Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Monday warned former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf against holding its planned protest in Islamabad on September 27, saying street agitation would lead the party to a "dead-end". The warning came before the party's planned march to the capital to demand the release of its founder, who has been in jail since 2023.
Naqvi said Khan's party would not be allowed to enter Islamabad and shut down the city for several days. He also said the government was preparing a strong security response, even as other groups, including Jamaat-e-Islami and the Kissan Ittehad, also planned protests in and around the capital this week.
Khan, 73, was arrested in 2023 after being convicted in a corruption case and is currently lodged in the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. Naqvi said on Monday that the authorities had made their position clear to the PTI. "We have clearly told them that they can never achieve anything through such drama, and I will say again that there is still time; they should not go into this situation," he said.
He added, "That possibility does not exist," while referring to PTI entering the capital, and said the authorities would plug "all loopholes" to prevent protesters from entering Islamabad. He advised the party to "not enter a dead-end street". Naqvi also referred to an Islamabad High Court order directing the government to ensure peace in the capital, and claimed that a majority of the party leadership did not support the planned protest. "Do not harm yourself and your workers," he told the party, urging it to adopt a different approach.
Asked about steps to find a long-term answer to repeated PTI protests, Naqvi said, "This time we will find a permanent solution; we will not leave it halfway." On reports of a possible ban on the party, he said the government would seek a "once-and-for-all solution", adding that "we can't afford this every time". He also did not rule out imposing governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the PTI-led government of Chief Minister Sohail Afridi is in power.
On demands to shift Khan to a private hospital for treatment, Naqvi said this could be done if doctors who regularly examine him recommended it. "As for the treatment that is prescribed under the law, we will do everything according to the law. But we will not do it simply because they are demanding it," he said. Khan has earlier complained of an eye ailment and has been shifted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences multiple times for medical intervention.
Khan's supporters have alleged that his health has deteriorated because of a lack of proper medical care, a charge rejected by jail authorities. The Supreme Court had ordered on August 18 that he be shifted to a private hospital for treatment, but he was instead taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and sent back to jail after medical tests.
Meanwhile, the government was putting security measures in place ahead of the September 27 protest, including placing shipping containers on roads and bringing in police personnel from other provinces. According to sources, more than 22,000 security personnel led by eight senior police officers were to be deployed in Islamabad, while more than 30,000 were to be deployed in Attock district, which links Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Punjab. Rawalpindi police have separately sought 9,000 additional personnel to assist the local administration, sources said.
PTI is not the only group planning protests. The right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami launched a protest against rising petroleum prices on Sunday and was heading towards Islamabad from Karachi. The Kissan Ittehad of farmers has also announced a sit-in in the capital this week, seeking relief for farmers. Overall, Naqvi's warning to PTI came as the government stepped up security and signalled that it would block the party's planned march to Islamabad while dealing with several protests at the same time.
