Punjab govt bans gatherings; motorway closure announced

As the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) gears up for its nationwide November 24 protest and march on Islamabad, the Punjab government has imposed Section 144 across the province for three days.

Motorway Police, on the other hand, has announced closure of the road network for ‘maintenance’.

In a notification issued Friday, the provincial government said that Section 144 will continue to remain in effect from Nov 23 till Nov 25, leading to restrictions on public gatherings, protests, rallies and processions.

Earlier, a notification pertaining to imposition of Section 144 in Islamabad was also issued. Rangers and Frontier Constabulary (FC) troops were deployed in Rawalpindi, Attock and Jhelum as Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that no sit-in will be permitted in the federal capital.

“I want no shop, business, or road to be closed,” Naqvi said on the potential closure of businesses during PTI’s protest.

Motorways Closure

Meanwhile, Motorway Police announced the closure of all motorways on Friday (today) at 8 pm, citing maintenance work.

Major motorways, including Pindi Bhattian to Multan M4, Sialkot to Lahore M11, Dera Ismail Khan to Hakla M14, Lahore to Islamabad M2 and Peshawar to Islamabad M1, will remain closed until further notice, motorway authority said in a statement.

The closures and imposition of Section 144 come two days ahead of PTI’s “final and decisive” protest for the release of party founder Imran Khan, who has been behind bars for over a year in Rawalpindi.

While PTI is determined to hold “peaceful demonstrations”, the government has denied any permission to the former ruling party in this regard.

“Forty-one funerals have been held there [KP], and here they are coming to Islamabad for protest. The KP government itself is assaulting the capital,” Interior Minister Naqvi said Friday.

Ruling out the possibility of negotiations with the PTI, he said there was no room for talks if the party leadership was holding sit-ins and protests. “On one hand they talk about protests, and on the other, they talk about negotiations.”

Mobile network & internet suspension

On Thursday, it was reported that the federal government has announced the partial suspension of internet and mobile services in Islamabad and areas of KP and Punjab in light of said protests.

A private media outlet reported that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) will activate firewall for social media blocking besides suspending mobile internet service on November 23.

The report also quoted sources as claiming that internet and mobile services might be suspended at certain locations at any time. The shutdown could result in users being unable to download audio and videos from social media apps.