Pakistan detains over 4,000 Imran Khan supporters before Islamabad rally

Thousands of supporters of erstwhile PM march to the capital, demanding his merchandise from jailhouse and government’s resignation.

Thousands of supporters of Imran Khan person been detained by constabulary arsenic Pakistan’s superior remains nether lockdown successful beforehand of a rally demanding the merchandise of the jailed erstwhile premier curate and resignation of the existent government.

Shahid Nawaz, a information serviceman successful eastbound Punjab province, said connected Monday that constabulary person already detained much than 4,000 Khan supporters, including 5 parliamentarians.

In a quality conference, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said authorities volition apprehension much Khan supporters if they scope Islamabad’s Red Zone, which has been sealed disconnected to support authorities buildings.

“Anyone reaching it volition beryllium arrested,” helium said.

Naqvi said the information measures were successful spot to support residents and property, blaming Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) enactment for inconveniencing radical and businesses.

Earlier connected Monday, hundreds of Khan’s supporters started their march to Islamabad, reaching the fringes of the capital, according to officials and his party.

Videos posted connected societal media showed allies of Khan, rallying the assemblage and urging them to march ahead. Convoys of hundreds of cars were besides seen.

In Peshawar, supporters of Khan were successful a festive mood, with PTI workers dancing, drumming and holding up pictures of their person arsenic cars acceptable disconnected for Islamabad.

Khan’s woman Bushra Bibi and cardinal adjutant Ali Amin Gandapur, who is the main curate of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, are starring a rally that arrived conscionable extracurricular Islamabad connected Sunday night, PTI said.

Khan has been down bars for much than a twelvemonth and is facing much than 150 transgression cases. But helium remains fashionable and his enactment has described the cases arsenic politically motivated.

Authorities person sealed disconnected Islamabad with shipping containers since Saturday and unopen down large roads and highways connecting the metropolis with PTI strongholds successful Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces to forestall Khan’s supporters from reaching Islamabad.

The protestation march, which Khan has described arsenic the “final call”, is 1 of galore his enactment has been holding to question his release. The party’s past protests successful Islamabad aboriginal successful October had turned violent.

Communications blackout

Earlier, connected Sunday, Pakistan suspended mobile and net services “in areas with information concerns”.

But Naqvi, the interior minister, denied suspending mobile telephone services, saying lone mobile information was affected.

Meanwhile, telecom institution Nayatel sent retired emails offering customers “a reliable landline service” arsenic a workaround successful the areas suffering suspended mobile telephone service.

Khan’s supporters trust heavy connected societal media to rally enactment for his merchandise and usage messaging platforms similar WhatsApp to stock information, including details of events.

The government, however, is imposing societal media bans and targeting virtual backstage web (VPN) services, according to net advocacy radical Netblocks.

The United States Embassy successful Islamabad issued a information alert for Americans successful the capital, encouraging them to debar ample gatherings and informing that adjacent “peaceful gatherings tin crook violent”.

Khan was voted retired of powerfulness by parliament successful 2022 aft falling retired with Pakistan’s almighty military.

The subject has an outsized relation successful authorities and it mostly decides who volition regularisation the South Asian federation of 241 million.

A presumption of a convoy by supporters of Imran Khan arsenic they caput towards Islamabad from Peshawar [Fayaz Aziz/Reuters]

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies