Amid persistent rumours about the health and possible death of former prime minister Imran Khan, authorities have imposed Section 144 in Rawalpindi, banning public gatherings as Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party announced protests demanding access to the jailed leader.
An order by Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema says Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Punjab Amendment) Act, 2024, will be in force from December 1 to December 3, citing an “imminent threat” to public safety and order.
For three days the order prohibits:
– All types of gatherings, including rallies, protests, sit-ins, demonstrations, and assemblies of five or more people
– Carrying weapons, batons, slingshots, ball bearings, petrol bombs, or any object that could be used violently
– Display of arms (except by law enforcement) and delivery of hate or inflammatory speeches
– Attempting to defy police restrictions
– Pillion riding
– Use of loudspeakers
Officials say intelligence reports warn certain groups are mobilising to disrupt law and order through large protests and may target soft locations or sensitive sites.
Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023 after convictions he calls politically driven and is being held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. His family says they have been denied access for over a month despite a court order for weekly meetings. His sons, Kasim and Sulaiman Khan, have demanded verifiable proof that their father is alive.
Speaking to Reuters, Kasim said the family has had no confirmed communication with Khan for “a couple of months.” “Not knowing whether your father is safe, injured, or even alive is a form of psychological torture,” he said, expressing fears that authorities may be hiding “something irreversible” about Khan’s condition. Kasim earlier alleged Khan has been kept “alone in a death cell in complete isolation.”
