ISLAMABAD: Authorities in Rawalpindi and Islamabad have begun laying groundwork to manage the PTI’s upcoming nationwide protest, taking steps that include seeking the detention of party workers, sourcing containers, requesting extra manpower, and stocking up on riot-control equipment.
Islamabad police are simultaneously gathering intelligence on the protest, tracking the party’s planning process as well as the movements of its leadership, members, and supporters.
According to police sources, container suppliers who typically work with law enforcement have already been notified, with a request placed for more than 1,000 units. Suppliers have been instructed to provide containers of varying sizes to close off the Red Zone, the High Security Zone, and the various points where people enter and exit the capital.
These containers will also serve to shut down major roads and highways within Islamabad, preventing demonstrators from moving freely during the protest and stopping reinforcements from reaching the capital from other regions.
Demand for containers has surged nationally because of the planned demonstration. Police departments in Punjab and Sindh have made comparable requests, which has left suppliers struggling to meet the combined need.
Suppliers have been told to source as many containers as they can manage; police say they’ll procure additional units on their own if the shortfall continues.
More than 100 containers have already been positioned around the capital, stationed at spots such as ITP headquarters, Faizabad, Tarnol, and Sangjani.
Officials are also drawing up a broader security strategy to determine staffing needs. Requests will go out to other provinces for reinforcements to bolster the capital’s police presence during the demonstration.
Estimates suggest more than 15,000 additional officers will be sought from the Punjab and Sindh police forces, in addition to support from the Federal Constabulary and Rangers. The anti-riot division has been placed on alert and told to inventory its equipment and put in fresh orders for supplies, including both long- and short-range tear gas shells and launchers.
Police intelligence units, along with the Special Branch, have been directed to monitor protest preparations and keep tabs on PTI’s local leadership, workers, and activists. Surveillance has been stepped up in areas where these individuals are known to reside or gather, as part of the broader intelligence-collection effort.
Separately, authorities in Rawalpindi issued detention orders against more than 30 PTI workers and activists, invoking Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) ordinance.
This provision allows administrative officials — such as deputy commissioners or district magistrates — to order preventive detention when they believe a person poses a risk of unrest or disruption.
Police officials noted that the orders were issued for an initial 30-day period, which can be extended up to 90 days in certain cases.
A legal challenge has also been filed with the Islamabad High Court by a private citizen, arguing that the planned sit-in and protest could disrupt daily life, traffic, and commercial activity in the capital. Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister, Sohail Afridi, spent recent days in Sindh rallying party supporters ahead of the September 27 demonstration.
A senior police official told Dawn that local authorities had been holding off on finalizing their security plan pending the court’s ruling on the protest’s legality, with detailed arrangements expected to follow shortly after.
“There’s no question that entry points will be blocked using containers and other barriers, and law enforcement will be deployed in large numbers to maintain order,” the official said.