Islamabad: The government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, facing the threat of a massive march to the capital next month by politician Imran Khan, has decided to deploy the army in Islamabad from August 1 for three months to maintain law and order.
Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan announced the decision while talking to media representatives here Friday.
He said that the Interior Ministry under Article 245 of the Constitution has sought the army’s services for maintaining law and order in the federal metropolis.
He told reporters that the leadership of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) had not so far applied to the capital administration for permission to hold any rally in Islamabad.
The PTI leader plans to lead a “million march” to the capital on August 14, Pakistan’s Independence Day, which the party has termed “azadi (freedom) march” to protest alleged fraud in the 2013 general election and force mid-term polls.
Decision
The interior minister said a decision on whether to allow PTI to hold a rally in Islamabad would be taken only after the party’s leadership makes a request to the government.
He said that a decision would be taken by Prime Minister Sharif after his return from his current visit to Saudi Arabia.
Imran Khan said a day earlier that his party’s planned march would be a decisive event.
“Nobody should misunderstand that the PTI is going to hold a simple protest public gathering in Islamabad,” he reportedly said in Lahore while after the inauguration of his party’s office in the city on Thursday.
Khan said the “Naya [new] Pakistan” would only be created after coming out on streets “The march will be a final battle to root out the existing corrupt system and bring in a fair system in the country,” he said.
In a related development, the parliament has formed a panel consisting of lawmakers from various parties to come up with recommendations for electoral reforms.
