Leaders from Imran Khan’s party have vowed to go ahead with a nationwide demonstration in Pakistan to demand the former prime minister’s release, even as the government deployed tens of thousands of police to Islamabad, barricaded highways and issued arrest warrants to try to stop the march.
The state has taken extreme measures to prevent Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party from proceeding with the march. It was announced after mounting concerns of the treatment of Khan, who has been in jail since ۲۰۲۳ on corruption charges.
On Friday, PTI leaders said they would postpone the start of the march until ۴ October, a week after the original ۲۷ September date, saying they hoped the delay would put further strain on the government.
Analysts said the protest could present a major challenge to the military-backed government, which is widely regarded as weak, illegitimate and unpopular, while Khan remains a popular rallying figure. The ruling coalition is led by the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, but the army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, is widely seen as the country’s de facto leader.
This week, dozens of PTI leaders and ministers have been detained or made subject of arrest warrants, while Khan’s three sisters were arrested on Monday and remain in jail, charged with posing a grave threat to security.
Among those facing arrest is Sohail Afridi, the chief minister of Khan’s home province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PTI’s stronghold, from where thousands of supporters are expected to join the march to the capital.
Afridi said the PTI would carry out the march unless the government made significant concessions over Khan’s treatment and conditions in jail, including a fair hearing for Khan’s cases.
“The government is panicking – that’s why they have put Islamabad under siege, that’s why they are abducting our ministers,” he said. “But Imran Khan is the most popular leader of the country and people will come out for him. I am certain they won’t be able to stop the public power of the masses when they come out on streets and take to Islamabad.”
Afridi acknowledged that the scale of the security deployment had led many to fear there could be a violent confrontation to prevent Khan’s supporters from entering the capital, as had been seen in previous demonstrations.
The government has already deployed tens of thousands of security officials to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and shut down the main highway connecting the provincial capital, Peshawar, to Islamabad.
“I know they can go to any extent to stop us by brute force, we have no doubt about it,” Afridi said. “But if we have a large number of people, they can’t open fire at us. Our plan is to bring so many people that they surrender.”
Faisal Karim Kundi, a central government appointee as governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, defended the security measures being taken against PTI as precautionary and accused the party of trying to create “instability and violence”. “The state can’t allow any violent group to march on Islamabad,” Kundi said.
Public frustration has mounted in Islamabad as the government’s measures to stop Khan’s party supporters having any way to enter the capital has led to the city resembling a high-security fortress.
More than ۱,۰۰۰ shipping containers, many fortified with spikes, have blockaded roads and sandbags were placed on bridges, while a key highway into the capital was closed. Public gatherings have been banned in Islamabad and ۲۲,۰۰۰ police and other security personnel have been deployed across the capital.
The government’s shutdown has fuelled anger and frustration in the capital, with many businesses unable to get supplies. Shahid, ۷۶, a retired businessman, said: “The entire city is suffering. The government has shut down the whole city and we, as citizens, are helpless. I have never seen such a situation. Joblessness, inflation and insecurity has made our lives hell but does the government care? No.”
Despite the considerable efforts by the government and the military to crush Khan’s party and remove the former prime minister from the public consciousness – with media organisations instructed to not even refer to him by name – Khan is still viewed by many as the political alternative to the current regime.
The PTI alleges Khan is being held in solitary confinement and has been denied adequate medical treatment and any contact with his family or his lawyers for months.
Khan denies all the charges against him and alleges he is being imprisoned due to the political threat he poses to the government and the military. All but one of the court rulings against Khan have been overturned.
Analysts say the government and its military backers fear the PTI protest could escalate into a movement that could topple their administration, similar to protests seen in nearby Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
“They have an eye on what has happened in south Asia over the last five years, where country after country has seen huge protests snowballing suddenly out of nowhere and sweeping away a government,” said Niaz Murtaza, a Pakistani political columnist.
“Given the breadth of grievances in Pakistan at the moment, the performance of the government has been so poor on the economy and security, while the repression is so high, that they are very nervous that the whole situation could combust very quickly.”
