• 1,200 policemen, anti-riot personnel deployed; number of pickets increased
• Party leaders return without visiting Imran after being barred by prison authorities
RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD: As the PTI staged two sit-ins outside the jail in as many weeks, the Punjab government has deployed more than 1,200 police officials, installed additional pickets, and deployed anti-riot police in the vicinity of Adiala jail, in an apparent bid to pre-empt such protests.
Separately, the jail authorities also barred the PTI leaders, including KP’s former finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra, who had arrived in Rawalpindi to meet their incarcerated party chief, Imran Khan.
According to the Islamabad High Court, Mr Khan can have two weekly meetings with his family and party leaders, but the authorities have routinely restricted such visits, much to the PTI’s chagrin. Last Tuesday, the PTI leaders staged a protest, which was dispersed by police with water cannons after midnight.
In a seemingly pre-emptive measure that would dissuade protesters from congregating outside the prison, protective measures around the jail have now been strengthened.
Besides more than 1200 police personnel, including the Elite Force and women police, four police squads have been put on standby for emergencies. The police will be equipped with rubber bullets, tear gas shells, and other anti-riot tools.
Similarly, one police picket was established at the jail’s gate and the second was established at Gate 5, while two pickets were set up at the Gorakhpur Road and near the Shaighan Factory. The area was also inspected by the Special Branch personnel and the bomb disposal squad for security measures.
In addition, traffic police wardens, remained on patrol in the area to keep the flow of traffic smooth during the proceedings of cases inside the jail. On Thursday, about 25 PTI supporters, including MPAs, visited the jail but returned empty-handed.
PTI leaders return without meeting
The PTI leaders, after spending a couple of hours outside the prison, returned after the jail administration did not allow them to meet Mr Khan. Talking to Dawn, Mr Jhagra said that the PTI leaders reached Adiala after 2pm and started waiting for permission to meet Imran Khan. He said the police told them they had no orders to allow them to enter the jail. “We waited there till 4:30pm and then decided to leave,” he said.
PTI leaders, including Aftab Alam, Adnan Qadri, Pir Musavir Khan, Muhammad Israr, Liaqat Ali Khan, and Taimur Khan Jhagra, had come to meet Imran Khan but they were denied permission. This time, the PTI did not give the name of KP CM Sohail Afridi for the meeting.
Speaking to media outside the prison, he warned the ‘powers that be’ to beware of the day when things would go out of the hands of the party and people would take things into their own hands and take to the streets. Mr Jhagra said that government functionaries were claiming, while giving interviews to foreign media, including Sky News, that 870 meetings with Mr Khan had been allowed.
“However, the fact is that since October 2024, as many as 60 weeks have passed but not a single meeting between Imran Khan and his political friends has been allowed. Party leaders arrive here every week, but they are not allowed to meet Imran. On the other hand, during the last 60 weeks, Imran’s relatives have been allowed to meet him just once or twice,” he said.
