Authorities in Rawalpindi have imposed Section 144 restrictions as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) prepares protests demanding access to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. The order, issued by Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema, invokes Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Punjab Amendment) Act, 2024, and will be in effect from December 1 to December 3, citing an “imminent threat” to public safety and order.
The three-day order bars a range of activities, including:
– All gatherings such as rallies, protests, sit-ins, demonstrations, and assemblies of five or more people
– Carrying weapons or objects that could be used violently, including batons, slingshots, ball bearings, and petrol bombs
– Display of arms (except by law enforcement) and delivery of hate or inflammatory speeches
– Attempts to defy police restrictions
– Pillion riding and the use of loudspeakers
Officials say intelligence reports indicate some groups are mobilising to stage large demonstrations that could disrupt law and order and potentially target soft or sensitive locations.
Khan has been imprisoned at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since August 2023 after convictions he and his supporters call politically motivated. His family says they have been denied access for more than a month despite a court order requiring weekly meetings.
Khan’s sons, Kasim and Sulaiman, have publicly 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,” calling the uncertainty “a form of psychological torture” and expressing fears authorities may be concealing “something irreversible.” He has earlier alleged that Khan is being kept “alone in a death cell in complete isolation.”
