The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday issued a call for a “massive” protest at Islamabad’s D-Chowk on Oct. 15, threatening to disrupt a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit if it is not granted immediate access to party founder Imran Khan, who is incarcerated at Adiala Jail.
Islamabad is hosting the SCO Heads of Government Council on Oct. 15-16, with around 900 delegates from across the world expected to attend the gathering. Ahead of the summit, the government has ramped up security measures, deploying over 10,000 police and paramilitary personnel in the federal capital, as well as placing the capital’s security with the Army under Article 245 of the Constitution. A “closed” holiday, spanning Oct. 14-16, has also been announced for Islamabad and diplomats requested to restrict their movements to ensure the safety and protection of all participants. Among the prominent delegates slated to attend are Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Iranian first vice president Reza Aref, and Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
As part of the security measures, the government last week announced a ban on all meetings at Adiala Jail, triggering protests from the PTI, as the directive prevented any meetings between the party leadership and its founder Khan. The party initially tried to get court orders for the meeting, accusing the government of contempt of court, before demanding in a separate petition that Khan be allowed to meet his sister so she could update his supporters on his health. After both pleas were rejected, the party’s political committee announced it would stage a “massive protest” at D-Chowk on Oct. 15 and urged people from across Pakistan to attend.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the PTI said it had directed all its workers to finalize preparations for the D-Chowk protest. It said it was cancelling previously announced rallies for various Punjab cities to focus on the D-Chowk protest. The first of these, announced for Multan and Sahiwal, took place on Friday but failed to make much impact, attracting less than 100 people in both cities combined.
“PTI founder Imran Khan was unjustly imprisoned in Adiala and is being subjected to a new series of brutality,” read the statement. “Imran Khan’s life, health and safety have been deliberately exposed to serious threats, all his basic and human rights have been deprived,” it alleging, accusing the government of “conspiracies” aimed at endangering Khan’s security.
Threatening to gather the “entire nation” at D-Chowk on Oct. 15 if the government did not provide the party access to Khan, it also demanded the immediate release of its detained workers, officials, supporters and MPAs from across Punjab. “The illegitimate governments of Punjab and the federal government are also demanded to immediately stop the series of illegal and immoral raids and roundups while violating the sanctity of the cloak and four walls,” it added.
However, while the party maintains its protest will be “peaceful,” it has made clear its ultimate aim is disruption of public life. “If we are not allowed to meet him [Khan] or know of his wellbeing we will also make sure our peaceful protest doesn’t allow the capital to function either,” threatened PTI leader Zulfikar Bukhari—a proclaimed offender in Pakistan believed to be based out of London—in a posting on X, formerly Twitter.
Government responds
Without directly naming the PTI, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar told media that the government had made Islamabad fully secure for the safety of the delegates gathering for the SCO summit. “Those who have a mindset to conspire against the country should better stay at home as no miscreant will be allowed to disrupt the SCO conference in Islamabad,” he said.
“The announcements [of protests] do not make any difference as Islamabad has been made fully safe and secure,” he said. “It will go as planned and will elevate Pakistan’s prestige and improve its image at the international level,” he added.