ISLAMABAD - The federal government on Thursday approved the deployment of Rangers, a paramilitary force, in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and several districts of Punjab to maintain law and order ahead of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) September 27 long march.
According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Interior, the deployment order would remain effective till October 5.
The development comes at a time when the PTI has announced a long march on the federal capital, demanding release of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan.
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The interior ministry has approved the deployment in the federal capital territory at the request of Islamabad chief commissioner and in Punjab on the requisition of its Home Department.
“The Federal Government is pleased to authorise deployment of sufficient strength of troops of Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) in ICT and different districts of Punjab Province,” says the notification. It adds that the order has been issued under the Pakistan Rangers Ordinance, 1959 and Sections 4 and 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.
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“The deployed troops may respond appropriately in self-defence to any threats or violent activities encountered in the course of their duties as per rules/regulations in vogue,” the notification further said.
Amid heightened tensions in the federal capital over the September 27 long march, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday said it had received no concrete offer from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led ruling alliance to call off its protest. Several major routes are sealed in the federal capital ahead of the protest march.
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“We have received no offer from the federal government,” said PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram in a brief interview to The Nation.
His remarks came following some unconfirmed reports that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif administration, through backchannel contacts, offered to shift incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for treatment and his jailed wife Bushra Bibi to his residence in Bani Gala.
The party of former prime minister Khan has planned a long march on Islamabad, demanding his release from jail.
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The PTI information secretary also refuted reports that the opposition party had decided to postpone its long march until October. He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and other party leadership including Shaukat Yousafzai, Shahid Khattak and Shafi Jan on Thursday held a meeting in Peshawar, which was joined by PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja through Zoom. “The meeting discussed preparations about the long march,” he said, adding that no suggestion about the postponement of the protest came under discussion.
“There is no proposal under discussion for the postponement of the march until October,” he said.
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According to a PTI insider, the party would only call off the protest for a few weeks if the government agreed to shift the ex-premier to Shifa International Hospital and allow meetings with his family and party colleagues. He said these steps would be considered as confidence building measures to initiate the formal talks process between the government and the opposition.
Another PTI leader said the party had made the release of its jailed chief the sole objective of the long march, as the crowd used to gather in the name of Khan. He added that, if formal dialogue with the government began, the party would go beyond that condition and put forward its complete set of demands. Although the prospects for such talks currently appeared slim, he said.
Talking to reporters here at the Parliament House, PTI interim Chairman Gohar Ali Khan said no formal committee of the opposition had been formed for talks. He added that opposition leaders in the National Assembly and the Senate, Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Raja Nasir Abbas, were their contact persons to hold dialogue with the government.
He said serious circumstances and the upcoming long march demanded talks, urging the government to set aside its ego and find a way out. “We want the government to hear our grievances,” he said, noting that the PTI march would remain peaceful.
Gohar claimed that an unannounced governor rule had been announced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said the narrative of the government was wrong that the PTI intended to attack state institutions or Islamabad by holding the long march. He objected to the use of measures such as net launchers against political workers, saying the government should offer reconciliation to them and avoid confrontation.