Starting this evening, the government is expected to ban mobile phone services nationwide because of the protest organized by PTI on November 24.
For this reason, the government is most likely going to put off mobile phone services across the country starting this evening, both because of the threat of disorder and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party’s protest scheduled for the twenty-fourth day of November, which they call a do-or-die. To enforce this, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has ordered all law enforcement agencies to stop any intended PTI protest from taking place in the city. As a precautionary measure, police vans have already been sent to the city and the necessary arrangements for housing demonstrators have also been made. This comes as the government is on the brink of imposing reality restrictions in anticipation of the demonstration, which comes after aggressive measures have been taken to add on police officers.
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In the past few months, Imran Khan’s party, PTI, has called for several marches in Islamabad as the situation demanded the intervention of law enforcement. This demonstration is being held while the President of Belarus is paying a state visit to Kenya from November 25th to 27th. In readiness for the protest, the administration declared Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedures for the residents of the capital city, which prohibits all types of assemblies. The government has also announced calling in 8000 more policemen with reinforcement of the Rangers and Frontier Constabulary (FC). The last orders concerning the blocking of mobile phone networks also came after the local displeasure networks received reports on Thursday that the authorities were thinking of a partial suspension in the city of Islamabad and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
Authorities have established stringent road barriers around the capital city of Islamabad and have even gone to the extent of putting up shipping containers at strategic points, including Faizabad, in order to curb movement in advance of the demonstration. They are taken in the context of the directives issued by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) which has ordered the administration to take necessary steps so that the protest by PTI does not in any way contravene the recently imposed law on public gatherings. The court has further appreciated the upheld rights of the people to hold peaceful assemblies but has ordered the relevant bodies to provide a particular area for the purposes of the PTI demonstration. Furthermore, the Punjab government has announced Section 144 for three days, effective November 23 to November 25, while over 10,700 policemen have also been put on alert throughout the region.
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The protest by PTI comes on the heels of their failure to reach a compromise with the government, especially when it came to the former’s demand for the release of PTI’s chief Imran Khan, which was put on the table as a pre-condition to the suspension of the protests. In relation to this, some traffic restrictions have already been noticed as major portions of the motorway and the GT Road in Punjab are paralyzed by roadblocks. Some of the besieged areas, including Jhelum bound Muridke section and Chenab Bridge in Gujrat, have been sealed with containers, resulting in traffic congestion of epic proportions. In addition, the blockade of the Lahore-Islamabad, Lahore-Abdul Hakeem, and Lahore-Multan motorways has worsened the situation. Officials are advising travelers to stay away from these roads and use other routes to reduce the chances of being held up.
Conclusion: The aggressive measures taken by the government, such as the network shutdown and the heavy deployment of security personnel, point to a significant level of threat posed by the PTI-organized demonstration. It’s advisable for the citizens to remain aware of the developments and adjust their movement plans accordingly.