The Pakistan interior ministry approved the Punjab provincial government’s request to deploy troops to maintain order following clashes between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) cadres and law enforcement officials.
Neighbouring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province also called in troops to maintain law and order, following the footsteps of the Punjab provincial government. It should be noted that both provincial governments are currently caretaker governments as their assemblies were dissolved by the PTI which was ruling these provinces.
Police in Pakistan’s Punjab province have reported the arrest of around 1,000 individuals following the outbreak of protests in the aftermath of the detention of former prime minister Imran Khan. In a statement to the media, officials said that 130 officers and officials had been injured during the violence, while 945 “lawbreakers and miscreants” had been detained from across the province.
People familiar with the developments said that the interior ministry authorised the deployment of Pakistan Army troops for maintaining law and order situations in aid of civil power and added that the deployment was made under Article 245 of the Pakistan Constitution and Section 4 (3) (ii) of the nation’s Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.
They also said that Sindh could witness similar troop deployment.
PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said that both the provinces are under martial law due to the deployment of the army. “The deployment of the army has been authorised in Pakistan’s two most populous provinces, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which make up 75% of the country’s population. With this move, both provinces are effectively under martial law,” Chaudhry said.
The roads leading to the Lahore residence of former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif have been sealed off with containers, according to recent reports.
The move was made by the authorities in response to growing unrest in the country following the arrest of opposition leader Imran Khan on corruption charges.
The use of containers to seal off roads has become a common tactic in Pakistan during periods of political instability and unrest. The heavy containers are typically placed at strategic locations to prevent access to key areas and control the movement of people and vehicles.
The Sharif family owns a lavish estate near Lahore named Jati Umra, which is named after their ancestral town of Jati Umra in Tarn Taran Sahib, located in the Indian state of Punjab.
The containers have been deployed to stop the unrest from spilling into the township.
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