Khan’s supporters march on, interior minister vows to ‘protect Islamabad’

Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi Sunday vowed to “protect Islamabad” as thousands of supporters of Imran Khan made their way to the capital to stage a protest amid heavy deployment of security forces and restrictions on mobile and internet services.

The 72-year-old jailed former premier issued a “final call” on November 13 for nationwide protests on November 24, denouncing what he termed as the stolen mandate, the unjust arrests of people and the passage of the 26th amendment, which he said has strengthened a “dictatorial regime”.

His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has called on the public to join the march to “break the shackles of slavery.”

The interior minister visited the D-Chowk, where Khan’s party intend to hold a sit-in. The D-Chowk is located close to several important government buildings: the Presidency, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Parliament, and the Supreme Court. Rangers, along with police and Frontier Constabulary, have been deployed to monitor the area.

Talking to the media, Naqvi said that the government has been forced to take strict security measures. “One option is that we let them come and paralyse Islamabad. The other option is to protect Islamabad,” he said, adding that those marching towards the D-Chowk would face arrests.

Naqvi maintained that the blockades were “not as bad as last time” and that the government was trying to give as much relief as possible to those inconvenienced. He added mobile services were still operational while internet had been shut in some areas.

Crackdown on party workers

As many as 1,257 Tehreek-e-Insaf workers, including members of national and provincial assemblies, were detained in Multan division. In a related incident, 200 were detained while marching towards Islamabad in response to the party’s call for a protest.