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Islamabad on Edge as PTI Protests Intensify

Local media cited that Gandapur’s decision to leave the party workers in Islamabad and move to KP House has “raised eyebrows”….reports Asian Lite News

Pakistan’s capital Islamabad remained tense on Sunday as the massive protest by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) entered its second day. Hundreds of PTI supporters and members have also made it clear that they will not call off the protest at the D-Chowk in front of the parliament until receiving further instructions from party leader Imran Khan.

The move comes amid reports of confusion surrounding the whereabouts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

Local media cited that Gandapur’s decision to leave the party workers in Islamabad and move to KP House has “raised eyebrows”.

“PTI’s political committee while criticising the disappearance of the Chief Minister, has warned that there will be ‘serious repercussions’ if Gandapur was arrested,” reported Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn.

It added that the committee has also decided that, in the event of Gandapur’s arrest, Azam Swati would lead the protest, and in case of Swati’s arrest, a new leader would be named to guide the demonstrators.

PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai has reportedly confirmed to local media that Gandapur was still at the KP House where he presented demands to the administration, including the immediate release of the party’s founder Imran Khan and redressal of PTI’s grievances.

“The clashes between the law enforcers and PTI supporters were reported from different areas of the twin cities throughout the day amid fiery statements from government ministers and PTI leaders against each other. Meanwhile, the roads remained blocked with containers and cellular services suspended, resulting in increasing difficulties of the citizens manifolds,” reported The Express Tribune.

Despite massive security deployment, a rally led by Gandapur had managed to reach Islamabad, with some workers gathering near prominent locations such as Centaurus Mall and China Chowk.

Earlier on Friday, PTI workers led by Amir Mughal had gathered at D-Chowk, where they cut a cake to celebrate Imran Khan’s birthday.

KP government spokesperson Barrister Mohammad Saif claimed that Gandapur had been arrested but later clarified on X that the KP CM had not been formally arrested.

He emphasised that Gandapur was on bail until October 25, warning that any arrest would insult the mandate of the KP people and that the government would have to answer for such “unconstitutional and illegal actions.”

Meanwhile, PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Khan indicated that the protest would continue due to the government’s crackdown. As he left KP House, he declined to comment when asked about Gandapur’s potential arrest.

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Jaishankar Rules Out India-Pakistan Talks At SCO Summit in Islamabad

Dr S. Jaishankar

EAM Dr S. Jaishankar said that he is traveling to Pakistan only to be a “good member of the SCO”, reports Asian Lite News

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday that he is not going to Islamabad to discuss “India-Pakistan relations” but his visit is all about the multilateral event, which is the SCO Summit 2024, taking place in the neighboring country.

The minister said that he is traveling to Pakistan only to be a “good member of the SCO”.

“Yes, I am scheduled to go to Pakistan in the middle of this month and that is for the meeting of the SCO –the heads of government meeting,” Jaishankar said while delivering the Sardar Patel Lecture on Governance organized by IC Centre for Governance in New Delhi.

“I expect that there would be a lot of media interest because the very nature of the relationship is such and I think we will deal with it. But I do want to say it will be there for a multilateral event, I mean I am not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. I am going there to be a good member of the SCO. Since I am a courteous and civil person, I will behave myself accordingly,” he underlined.

The External Affairs Minister highlighted that the SCO Summit is taking place in Islamabad this time, because, similar to India, Pakistan too, is a recent member of the bloc.

“Normally the Prime Minister goes to the high-level meeting, the heads of state, that’s in line with the tradition. It so happens that the meeting is taking place in Pakistan, because, like us, they are a relatively recent member,” Jaishankar added.

On being asked about his planning before he heads to the summit, the EAM stated, “Of course, I am planning for it. In my business, you plan for everything that you are going to do, and for a lot of things that you are not going to do, and which could happen also, you plan for that as well.”

On Friday, the MEA said that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be traveling to Pakistan to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit scheduled to take place in October.

On being asked about India’s participation in the upcoming SCO Summit, the MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “EAM Jaishankar will lead a delegation to Pakistan to participate in the SCO summit which will be held in Islamabad on October 15-16.”

Earlier in August, India received an invitation from Pakistan for the SCO Council of Heads of Government (CHG) in-person meeting.

In May 2023, Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited India for the SCO meeting in Goa. This was the first visit by a Foreign Minister of Pakistan to India in six years.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation established on June 15, 2001, in Shanghai by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Its predecessor was the mechanism of the Shanghai Five. Currently, the SCO countries include nine member states: India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The SCO has three observer states: Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Belarus.

At the Samarkand SCO Summit in 2022, the process of raising the status of the Republic of Belarus within the Organisation to the level of a member state started. The SCO has 14 dialogue partners: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, Egypt, Cambodia, Qatar, Kuwait, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Sri Lanka. (ANI)

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Pak Army Steps In Amid Street Unrest In Islamabad Ahead Of SCO Summit

With the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad on October 15-16 coupled with the fast aggravating security situation on the ground, the Federal Ministry of Interior has ordered handing over the security of the capital to the Pakistan Army, reports Hamza Ameer

Amid the fast-changing security situation on the ground in Islamabad with violent protests, clashes, arrests, cellular services and internet blockades; the government of Pakistan has decided to hand over the security of the capital to the Pakistan Army units officially.

Pakistan’s capital Islamabad and its twin city Rawalpindi, along with the connecting route between Punjab province, Federal Capital Islamabad and the Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KP) province, have become battlefields between supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the security forces throughout Friday and is expected to continue through the weekend as well.

With the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) summit scheduled to be held in Islamabad on October 15-16 coupled with the fast aggravating security situation on the ground with fierce clashes being reported amid PTI’s call for protest at D-Chowk in Islamabad on October 4, the Federal Ministry of Interior has ordered handing over the security of the capital to the Pakistan Army.

The orders have been issued under Article 245 of the Constitution, which states “The Armed Forces shall, under the directions of the Federal Government, defend Pakistan against external aggression or threat of war, and, subject to law, act in aid to civil power when called upon to do so”.

After directives from the ministry, army units have taken over security duties in Islamabad — a move by the government to maintain law and order amid escalating PTI protests in the capital.

Official sources confirmed that the capital has been handed over to the armed forces from October 4 till October 17. The role of the armed forces includes patrolling at key locations to safeguard citizens and public property. This would also now include ensuring security protocols during the SCO summit, where dignitaries from member states will be landing in Pakistan.

Pertinent to note that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will be leading India’s delegation and travelling to Islamabad for the summit also, making the event even more important, critical and crucial.

But on the ground, the security situation amid PTI-led protests resulting in violent clashes with the police authorities has made the political situation extremely sensitive for the government and has spread confusion about probable outcomes, which may be witnessed in the coming hours in the country.

“I am very worried about how the military establishment and the government have decided to handle this situation. They have called in the army to take control of the capital for 17 long days. They have applied Article 245, which means that they are referring to a political party PTI as either an external force which threatens war against the state. This is dangerous…,” said senior analyst Najam Sethi.

“Keeping in view the current situation… where you have KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur with his barrage of people, armed with weapons and threatening to breach through the blockades to reach Islamabad… he is confronted with the army now. And god forbid, if a gunshot is fired in these days, by any of his angry protestors who have been difficult to control as we have seen in the recent past, the situation may go completely out of hand and end up in a disaster,” added Sethi.

It would not be wrong to maintain that deployment of armed forces in the capital basically put the military establishment and former premier and currently incarcerated Imran Khan’s PTI directly standing against each other. Any wrong move now, from the military establishment or PTI, may just be the final showdown that would push the country into anarchy and chaos.

While the suspicions and stakes remain high with all eyes stuck on the ticking clock, the next 24 to 48 hours have become highly critical.

However, for others, especially with a close watch on the developing situation — the matter will not be allowed to escalate, while the prime demand of PTI, seeking engagement between imprisoned Imran Khan and the military establishment, may also not be entertained.

“The military establishment has maintained what it had been stating in the past. There can be no talks with Imran Khan — not after what he and his party did on 9th May 2023. It will remain the same. Even this current tactic to create pressure and spread riots to force the military establishment to reconsider engagement with Imran Khan is not going to be entertained,” said a reliable source on the condition of anonymity.

“Ali Amin Gandapur and his people violently protesting at the edge of KP, are not left with too many options and are seeking help from the military establishment to retreat. He has the army standing in front of him, and the armed forces have also been called in from his province KP, who have maintained their positions close to the Burhan interchange. So Gandaur is trapped in his own misadventure,” he added.

The source said that the doors of the military establishment will remain shut for Imran Khan as they have been in the past. And his loudest voice Gandapur will have a decision to make for himself and his provincial government.

“KP CM Gandapur is leading a group of people, who are armed, who are ready to kill or be killed, who have said that they would use their weapons to fight and remove the blockades to enter into the capital, which is now controlled by the Pakistan armed forces. It’s a recipe for his own crash. Any wrong move and he will have terrorism cases against him, a change of command in his province with a governor rule imposed and an end to his political party PTI, which is left with Gandapur only as their voice. Imran Khan also supports Gandapur, so as the ship falls, so will the man behind the bars as his pressure tactics will fail yet again,” the source said.

While the claims made by the source are based on expected outcomes, the ground situation in Pakistan remains extremely tense and is expected to retain is sensitivity for at least the next 48 hours.

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Polio resurfaces in Islamabad after 16-year gap

The affected individual, an eight-year-old boy, marks the first polio case in the city since 2008….reports Asian Lite News

Pakistan has reported its first polio case in Islamabad in 16 years, bringing the total number of cases reported this year to 17, according to health officials. This resurgence comes as the country grapples with ongoing efforts to eradicate the disease, despite continued detection of wild poliovirus (WPV1) in environmental samples.

Aside from the confirmed wild poliovirus (WPV1) cases reported across all four provinces, the virus has also been identified in environmental samples from 64 districts, signalling its presence in those regions.

The new case has been detected in Islamabad’s Union Council Rural 4, near the Sangjani Toll Plaza, as confirmed by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio at the National Institute of Health.

The affected individual, an eight-year-old boy, marks the first polio case in the city since 2008.

As reported by the Pakistan’s English-language newspaper Dawn, a senior lab official stated that environmental samples from the federal capital and Rawalpindi district have been testing positive for WPV1 since June, highlighting the “persistent threat of polio to children’s well-being.”

Ayesha Raza Farooq, the Prime Minister’s focal person for polio eradication, described the case as “incredibly heartbreaking.”

She mentioned that, in response to the virus outbreak, the polio programme has conducted “in-depth consultative sessions with the provinces and districts” to enhance its eradication efforts.

Muhammad Anwarul Haq, the coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication, stated that the government is “ramping up efforts” to ensure every child receives polio vaccines, including those in Islamabad.

The government has scheduled a new large-scale vaccination campaign across 115 districts from September 9 to 13.

Farooq stated that teams will conduct house-to-house visits in 115 districts to administer vaccines to over 33 million children under five.

The campaign will also include all 36 districts of Balochistan, which has seen 12 polio cases since February.

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Jamaat-e-Islami Holds Pro-Palestine Rally in Islamabad

The report stated the JI mobilised a massive crowd of protesters at Embassy Road, including people from different walks of life including workers and teachers….reports Asian Lite News

The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) held a protest criticising the stance of the interim government in Pakistan on the situation in Gaza, Dawn News reported on Monday, adding that thousands of protesters gathered on the streets in support of Palestine amid the ongoing Israeli offensive against Hamas.

The report stated the JI mobilised a massive crowd of protesters at Embassy Road, including people from different walks of life including workers and teachers.

JI chief Emir Sirajul Haq lamented the interim government not being proactive amid the situation in Gaza, the report stated, adding that the protesters also questioned the inaction of Muslim rulers saying that the Ummah “would not forgive the rulers of the Islamic world if they failed to take practical steps to safeguard the people of Palestine”.

He also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, demanding that the US withdraw its support for Israel.

“Israel’s violation of all international laws and norms and its defiance of the UN General Assembly’s call for a ceasefire has been further aggravated by the launch of a ground assault on Gaza,” he said.

He expressed concern over the mounting death toll, pointing out the disruption of internet services in the besieged region, according to the report.

Further, according to Dawn News, the party had planned to hold the demonstration outside the US embassy, but the venue was changed after the district administration arrested about 20 party workers on Saturday.

Criticising the administration’s crackdown against JI workers, Haq said the government was “frightened when we announced the march in front of the US Embassy” and called it “unfortunate”.

“I want to ask who do you want to make happy. It was impossible for us to withdraw the call of the march,” he said, claiming that the police “brutally tortured” several JI workers.

The JUI-F’s protest in Quetta was also addressed by the party’s emir Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

He said the US was “no longer a superpower” and the government should remove the “shackles of US slavery and stand up against it”.

“Why aren’t our leaders openly declaring support for the Muslims of Gaza,” he asked, addressing the gathering at Ayub Stadium.

“If our rulers continue to show cowardice today, then the Pakistani nation will stand against its rulers,” he said.

He also stressed the need to convene a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to adopt a new stance in accordance with the evolving situation in Gaza.

Hamas leader Naji Zaheer also addressed the event saying the people of Palestine would not surrender and would fight for a separate state. (ANI)

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Shah Mahmood Qureshi arrested in Islamabad

The FIA earlier in July this year, grilled Qureshi and PTI leader Asad Umar for nearly two hours in connection with the probe into controversial US cypher…reports Asian Lite News

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been arrested from his residence in Islamabad, Geo News reported.

Geo News is a Pakistani news channel. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) as per sources, took Qureshi into custody from his Islamabad residence in connection with the ongoing investigation into cypher which PTI alleges contained the threat from the United States to oust Imran Khan from power.

The PTI has also confirmed that the party leader was arrested from his residence and is being moved to the FIA headquarters in the federal capital. The arrest came shortly after Qureshi addressed a presser wherein he dispelled the reports of infighting between party leaders to replace incarcerated party chief Imran Khan, as per Geo News. The PTI has also confirmed that the party leader was arrested from his residence and moved to the FIA headquarters in the federal capital.

The FIA earlier in July this year, grilled Qureshi and PTI leader Asad Umar for nearly two hours in connection with the probe into controversial US cypher.

Qureshi time and again has reiterated that the US cypher was a reality, backing the party chief’s claims that the US engineered his ouster from power by supporting the opposition’s no-confidence motion in April last year.

The cypher case against the former premier became serious after his principal secretary Azam Khan stated before a magistrate as well as the FIA that the former PM had used the US cypher for his ‘political gains’ and to avert a vote of no-confidence against him, as per Geo News.

The former bureaucrat, in his confession, said when he provided the ex-premier with the cypher, he was “euphoric” and termed the language a “US blunder”. The former prime minister, according to Azam, then said that the cable could be used for “creating a narrative against establishment and opposition”. (ANI)

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Islamabad suicide blast suspects identified, say police

Security personnel investigate at the site of a suicide attack in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Dec. 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Ahmad Kamal/IANS)

Additional details revealed that the suicide bomber had travelled from Karak, KP, to Mardan city where he had stayed overnight along with one facilitator who handled his accommodation…writes Hamza Ameer

A high-level team probing the December 23, 2022 suicide attack targeting a police checkpost in Islamabad that killed a cop and critically injured others, has identified the suicide bomber, while a manhunt for at least two other facilitators, who helped the perpetrator reach the Pakistani capital, has been launched.

As per informed sources, authorities have identified two people who had helped the suicide bomber in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and helped him reach Rawalpindi and then move ahead towards Islamabad to carry out the atta.

“There were two facilitators of the suicide bomber; one brought him to Islamabad on December 23 and the other, who was present in Rawalpindi, handed him the suicide jacket”, stated an official, who is part of the investigation team.

Additional details revealed that the suicide bomber had travelled from Karak, KP, to Mardan city where he had stayed overnight along with one facilitator who handled his accommodation.

The next morning, the bomber travelled to Swabi city in KP, from where, he took a vehicle and travelled towards Pir Wadhai Bus Station in Rawalpindi.

The second facilitator received the bomber at Pir Wadhai.

“It is yet to be established if the bomber and his facilitator from KP had travelled with a ready-to-detonate suicide jacket or if it handed over to them by their facilitator in Rawalpindi,” said a source with information about the investigation.

As carrying a suicide jacket is more risky and dangerous, it is believed that the Rawalpindi facilitator was the one who handed it over to the bomber.

“The bomber also made a call after reaching Pir Wadhai and talked to someone,” said the source.

“We believe that the person with whom the suicide bomber spoke on the phone after reaching Pir Wadhai is the one who had arranged the suicide jacket for him.”

With the remains of the suicide bomber recovered from the crime scene, which include the upper part of the body and four fingers, the investigators have succedded in finding out his identity after conduction forensic tests of the fingerprints.

The source further said that a mobile sim was also found at the crime scene, whose details of registration matched with the bomber’s fingerprints.

“The suicide bomber was a native of Kurram district in KP and was identified at Saqib-ud-din, aged 22,” he added.

Another person, who had made a video of Parliament and the Red Zone in Islamabad with his mobile phone and was heard stating “TTP is coming”, has also been identified and arrested.

Intelligence sources confirmed that the person was affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror outfit.

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Islamabad, Rawalpindi suffer fuel shortage

Later, rebutted reports and clarified that the government has no plans to hike the price of petroleum products…reports Asian Lite News

Long queues have lined up outside petrol pumps in twin cities — Islamabad and Rawalpindi — after oil marketing companies (OMCs) stopped the supply of the essential commodity, the media reported.

A representative of the petrol pump association said that the supply has been stopped and tankers have lined up outside oil depots for refilling, Geo News reported.

The official asked the OMCs to restart the supply of petroleum products as if the reserves of the petrol pumps run out, then businesses will be severely affected.

“We are in talks with oil supply companies regarding the matter,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chairman Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association (PPDA) Abdul Sami Khan said that the reserves of the pumps are running shortly after “Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced another probable hike in petrol prices”.

He maintained that the supply to the petrol pumps had not stopped yet, but due to the rush at the filling stations, their reserves might be exhausted soon, Geo News reported.

Later, rebutted reports and clarified that the government has no plans to hike the price of petroleum products.

“There will be no increase in prices today, and there is no summary or plan to raise prices,” the Pakistan finance minister said in a tweet after media reports quoted him as saying that petrol prices will move up further.

“In the pre-budget seminar I never even spoke about petroleum prices. Channels running these tickers are doing a disservice to their viewers,” the finance minister said.

In his address to the one-day long pre-budget business conference, Ismail said that had the government taken decisions in line with former prime minister Imran Khan and former Pakistan finance minister Shaukat Tarin’s deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the price of petrol would have stood at Rs 300 per litre.

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Pak Taliban dominates new round of dialogue with desperate Islamabad

Islamabad is asking the TTP negotiators to terminate their insurgency against Pakistan and dissolve the group in favour of a peaceful resettlement to their native country…reports Mrityunjoy Kumar Jha

The Haqqani group, the power behind the throne in Afghanistan, has hosted talks between the Pakistani army and outlawed terror outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The dialogue between the two, after the TTP threatened to emerge as the vanguard of Pashtun nationalism, will continue as both parties have declared an indefinite ceasefire. Pashtun nationalism riles Pakistan as it threatens to sever parts of the Pashtun dominated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan, and merge it with Afghanistan. The TTP is further showing signs of collaborating with Baloch nationalists, setting in force a perfect storm that assertively questions Pakistans existing territorial boundaries.

According to the Pakistani media, both sides have agreed that there would be no “major” counter-militancy operations by Pakistani security forces, nor would the TTP carry out attacks against them. Sources also confirmed that a large Loya Jirga is being convened in Kabul comprising 150 tribal leaders of the erstwhile FATA region, now part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These leaders are already in Kabul for the next round of talks hosted by the chief of the UN designated terror organisation and the interior minister of the Taliban regime, Sirajuddin Haqqani – the kingpin of the Haqqani network.

“The senior Pak military officers are fine tuning the peace agreement with the leadership of the TTP, the Pakistani army officers and the Taliban rulers in Kabul. Efforts are on to arrange face-to-face meetings between Pakistani officers and the chief of the TTP Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud,” wrote the Pakistani journalist Daud Khattak.

The first two rounds of talks were headed by the former ISI chief and core commander of Peshawar Corps, Lt General Faiz Hameed who has close links with the Haqqanis and top Taliban rulers. According to the TTP, as a confidence building measure, the Pakistani army released two key militant commanders, including TTP spokesman Muslim Khan last month.

As the talks progressed, one Pakistani army official told Voice of America (VoA) that Pakistan hailed the host Taliban government for making “utmost efforts” to ensure relevant TTP commanders were present at the table to productively carry the dialogue forward. He noted that acting Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani “is playing the key role” in mediating the talks.

“Compensation for the dead and wounded, enforcement of Shariah regulation in Malakand, withdrawal of military from the borders and reversal of Fata merger into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were key demands from the TTP side”, Dawn reported quoting the sources.

Islamabad is asking the TTP negotiators to terminate their insurgency against Pakistan and dissolve the group in favour of a peaceful resettlement to their native country.

“Pakistani army has no issue with some of the TTP’s demands, but two major issues remained challenging: the reversal of Fata merger and the disbandment of the TTP as an armed militant group,” reported Dawn.

“Haqqani mediations have not led to a sustainable ceasefire but are a further indication of Mr. Sirajuddin’s central role within the Taliban as a mediator and figure of authority among rank-and-file of TTP and other mainly Pashtun groups in eastern Afghanistan,” said the UN annual report of the 1988 Taliban sanctions committee monitoring team.

The Pakistani watchers say that this is the third time the Pakistani army has initiated the peace talks with the banned TTP. The first two talks were thwarted by the TTP itself. Even twice bitten and deceived by the TTP, the Pakistani army has not learned any lesson.

(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)

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Islamabad braces for political showdown

Islamabad braces for political showdown

Workers and leaders of the JUI-F, under the banner of the opposition alliance PDM, have already come to take the stage on the Srinagar Highway…reports Asian Lite News

Nerves are on edge as Islamabad braces for a political showdown on Sunday as the ruling PTI is going all-out to make its public meeting successful amid mounting pressure from opposition parties, which are also marching on Islamabad before the vote on a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, Dawn reported.

Workers and leaders of the JUI-F, under the banner of the opposition alliance PDM, have already come to take the stage on the Srinagar Highway while PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz, along with Punjab opposition leader Hamza Shehbaz was leading her party caravan via GT Road to the capital, calling it the last nail in the coffin of the PTI government.

Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid, speaking at a presser in Islamabad, warned the JUI-F that it would not be permitted to hold a sit-in in Islamabad, as they had been allowed to hold the public meeting on Saturday only and they would need to submit another request if they wanted to hold a rally on Sunday, too, the report said.

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He also cautioned that no party would be allowed to enter Red Zone and action would be taken against those who attempted to take the law into their hands by blocking another party’s route or by holding a sit-in in violation of Supreme Court directions.

He said the interior ministry would cooperate with opposition parties in connection with their upcoming rallies and no-confidence vote and provide full security to “all their lawmakers”.