Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry said on Tuesday that compliance with Section 144 would be ensured.
“Whether they come to the Islamabad High Court or the Adiala jail, action under Section 144 would be carried out without any discrimination,” Chaudhry said while speaking to the media in Islamabad. He particularly urged PTI-backed parliamentarians to “abide by the law”.
Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code is a legal provision that empowers district administrations to prohibit an assembly of four or more people in an area for a limited period.
The development comes as the PTI has decided to stage protests outside the Islamabad High Court and Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail today against restrictions on PTI founder Imran Khan’s visitation rights.
The decision to assemble comes amid a ban on public gatherings in the twin cities. The federal capital administration had imposed the ban on Nov 18 for two months, whereas the Rawalpindi district administration issued a notification yesterday for a three-day ban on gatherings. It may be noted that the Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act 2024 also allows the district magistrate to regulate public gatherings in the capital.
Chaudhry said Section 144 had been imposed in Islamabad and Rawalpindi “in light of intelligence reports”.
He further linked the matter to terrorism, saying that “terrorists look for instances [which they could use] to spread fear and make headlines”.
“Be it [at a] political gathering, courts or important places or offices.”
The state minister further said that terrorists used social media applications, particularly for communication. “They use these apps with VPNs to hide their identities and locations.”
So, Chaudhry continued, the interior ministry had decided that it, along with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), would find a solution to this problem.
“The PTA has issued a detailed press release regarding the registration of VPNs,” he said, adding that the government did not want IT-related businesses to get affected by this measure. “But, it has to be done at any cost to ensure that mobile and social media apps are not used for terrorist activities.”
The state minister also recalled that the Peshawar High Court had ruled that state resources were not to be used for political activities.
So, “we hope that the KP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) chief minister, who repeatedly comes to Islamabad and Pindi, will not use state resources for his political activities”, he added.
The state minister asserted that “KP police will [only] be used in KP for security”.
“If they come to Islamabad or any other province, prior intimation will be required in a proper manner. If any state resources are used without any intimation, action will be taken and criminal cases will be registered against government employees [concerned], in line with the Peshawar High Court’s directive,” he warned.
He further stated that Section 144 had been imposed for the protection of lives. “An incident has occurred in Islamabad, and threats still exist,” he said.
The minister pointed out that the PTI had staged protests in Rawalpindi, demanding meetings with Imran, several times.
The administration, he said, was closely monitoring the situation to ensure that citizens’ lives and peace in the city were not affected. “To ensure that such gatherings of protests do not cause any loss.”
Here, he also recalled the violent protests of May 9, 2023, which were held after Imran’s arrest. “They will do it themselves just like on May 9, and entire Pakistan will face the consequences. They will do it themselves, and will then deny [any responsibility].”
He maintained that KP Chief Minister had no authority to demand a meeting with Imran.
Reiterating that Section 144 had been imposed in light of terror incidents. “And I hope that terrorists will not be facilitated — that such gatherings are held where they could carry out [terror] activities with ease and spread fear in Pakistan. We have made fool-proof security arrangements, and God willing, no such incident will take place. But, we need the cooperation of other political parties and civil society to ensure this.”
Plan for protests
PTI leader Asad Qaiser said on Monday the opposition lawmakers from both houses of parliament will protest outside the IHC before taking their demonstration to Adiala jail in Rawalpindi. “It has been decided to hold protests because IHC has failed to implement its order and the Adiala jail administration is not willing to implement the court orders,” he said.
Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and other leaders will stage protests in the twin cities, Qaiser said.
Last week, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had staged a sit-in outside the prison after he was barred from meeting Imran for the eighth time. Similarly, the ex-premier’s family members have not been allowed to meet him for several weeks. There were also speculations about his health, but the government and the PTI leaders had said that he was in good health.
More to follow
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