Pakistan: 30 arrested including 2 sisters of Imran Khan, Islamabad ‘locked’ amid PTI rally

Islamabad Mobile Service Ban: Lockdown was imposed in the capital of Pakistan on Friday and mobile phone service has also been suspended in Islamabad. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s sisters Alima and Uzma Khan, who were part of the protest, were arrested in Islamabad today. Shipping containers were placed by Pakistani authorities on the main roads and highways leading to the capital to transport the jailed former Prime Minister. imran khan His supporters could be prevented from holding a rally demanding his release.

Shehbaz Sharif’s government also deployed paramilitary Rangers and additional police and closed schools in Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi after Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party refused to withdraw its call for protests. .

Videos posted online showed police placing shipping containers on bridges and roads on a main highway in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa state, as Khan’s supporters defied a ban on rallies imposed in the state this week. Plans have been made to march from Islamabad to Islamabad.

Police also arrested some party supporters

Khan, Sharif’s main political rival, has been in jail for more than a year in connection with more than 150 police cases. Yet he remains a popular figure, whom his party says is politically motivated. He was removed from office through a no-confidence motion in Parliament in 2022 and arrested in 2023 after being sentenced to 3 years in prison by a court in a corruption case.

Communication disrupted in Islamabad and Rawalpindi

The suspension of cellphone services in Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Friday disrupted communications and affected basic services like online banking. Many people faced difficulties in traveling due to the restrictions imposed on the roads. On Thursday, Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi asked Khan’s party to cancel the planned protests and warned that “no leniency will be shown” if the ban on protests is violated.

A message on Khan’s social media account urged supporters to join the protest. “The dictators in power want to terrorize us,” it said. “So move forward fearlessly and remember that if you still hesitate, go ahead and truly liberate yourself.”

Shehbaz Sharif’s government says Khan’s party wants to weaken the country’s economy by holding violent protests despite the threat of attacks by the Pakistani Taliban. Pakistan recently received a loan of 7 billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund, due to which the country is struggling to overcome the economic crisis.

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