Islamabad is blocked ahead of Imran Khan's PTI protest

 ISLAMABAD: Pakistani police have closed major highways and motorways across the country ahead of a protest march in Islamabad planned for Sunday by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). 

The PTI's demonstration is largely intended to put pressure on the government to end Imran's more than one-year detention on what his party alleges are politically motivated charges. Furthermore, the party want to speak out against the manipulation of the February 8 general elections and seek measures to defend judicial independence, which it alleges has been jeopardized by the 26th Constitutional Amendment. The government disputes this.

PM Shehbaz Sharif's administration has vowed to repress the PTI's power show with full force and has threatened arrests if anyone attends the demonstration.
In an effort to put an end to the demonstration, the government has deployed security personnel, imposed a blanket ban on gatherings, blocked all highways in Islamabad and Rawalpindi with shipping containers, and begun a crackdown on opposition party leaders and workers.

According to police 6,325 Islamabad police officers have been deployed, along with 21,500 personnel from other forces, including 5,000 Rangers (paramilitary force), 5,500 Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel, 9,000 Punjab police personnel, and 2,000 Sindh police personnel, to prevent PTI protesters from entering the capital city.

 
In response to criticism for shutting Islamabad and barring major routes and motorways, defense minister Khawaja Asif described these steps as a "lesser evil," stating that allowing demonstrators into the capital could result in more devastation.

However, Ali Amin Gandapur, the PTI's chief minister of northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, reaffirmed the demand for all Pakistanis to attend the demonstration. "It is imperative that we leave our homes to protest Imran Khan's illegal incarceration," he declared in a video message.