Pakistan’s federal government on Saturday rejected reports that roads across Islamabad had been closed ahead of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s planned October 4 long march, saying shipping containers had been positioned in the capital as a precautionary security measure.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said no roads in Islamabad had been blocked and that the containers were placed in compliance with Islamabad High Court directions intended to protect citizens’ lives, property and freedom of movement.
The government’s rebuttal followed an Al Jazeera report that transport associations and officials estimated between 1,500 and 2,000 shipping containers had been placed around Islamabad ahead of the opposition march. The report described disruption to transporters and businesses and said some containers had been positioned on or near roads leading into the capital.
The information ministry said the measures were intended to protect public infrastructure and sensitive installations, citing what it described as previous violent incidents involving the protesting party. It accused Al Jazeera of portraying the precautions selectively as road blockades and said all roads remained open.
Al Jazeera, however, has separately reported that road closures and container barriers had been imposed at various points in the Islamabad region in the run-up to the protest. A September 24 report said key routes linking the capital with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been closed at that stage, while the Lahore-Islamabad motorway remained open.
PTI postponed its planned march from September 27 to October 4. The party says the protest is aimed at securing the release of jailed former prime minister and party founder Imran Khan and pressing what it describes as the restoration of constitutional supremacy and rule of law.
Despite talks between the government and opposition on Friday, PTI has maintained that it intends to proceed with the march.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has previously said the government would devise a permanent strategy for dealing with such protests and would not allow the country to remain paralysed for extended periods because of demonstrations.
The dispute over the security arrangements comes amid heightened political tensions in the capital, with the government defending the measures as necessary for public order while PTI maintains that peaceful protest is a constitutional right.
Claims regarding whether roads were blocked or merely secured with precautionary barriers reflect competing accounts from the federal government and media reporting. Conditions on individual routes may change as security arrangements are adjusted ahead of the march.
This is a developing story.
