Islamabad’s Red Zone has been sealed as a precaution to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) long march.
Shipping containers along with barbed wires have been placed overnight alongside roads to restrict access to D-Chowk.
A statement of Islamabad police’s spokesperson has said, “Some people from Punjab have set out for the federal capital to get their political demands.” The statement also added that Section 144 had been imposed and the violators will be dealt with according to law.
According to reports, the capital police’s additional manpower has also been deployed at all the entry and exit points of Islamabad whereas the capital police has also asked for more police, rangers and frontier constabulary (FC) personnel.
Media reports have claimed that total 30,000 personnel have been requested from provincial police departments, rangers and FC including 20,000 from Punjab police, 4,000 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police and 6,000 from rangers and FC force.
It has also been reported that in addition to barricading the federal capital with hundreds of containers, the administration of the capital city has also been planning to dig tranches to barricade Islamabad so that PTI supporters and workers could be prevented from entry.
At least 3,000 FC personnel have reached Islamabad whereas drones to hurl teargas shells along with extra supply of teargas shells have been requisitioned.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Monday had said that he would soon announce a long march to Islamabad as he directed his party workers and leaders to start preparations for that. He said that the party workers should wait for his call because the incumbent coalition government could not be given more time.
Imran Khan also said that the PDM leaders who protested against the PTI government in the name of inflation have come into power to end their cases, not inflation.
