Islamabad police ban public gatherings in view of ‘elevated security concerns’

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police have imposed a ban on public gatherings in the federal capital in view of “elevated security concerns,” Pakistani state media reported on Saturday.
The South Asian country has been witnessing a surge in militant attacks, including a string of coordinated assaults launched last Sunday that killed more than 50 people in the southwestern Balochistan province.
To prohibit any public gathering, the Islamabad police said they had imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a provision that allows authorities to prohibit assembly of four or more people.
“These restrictions are designed to maintain public order and ensure the safety of all citizens,” an Islamabad police spokesperson was quoted as saying by the state-run APP news agency.
The report did not specify how long the restriction would be in place.
The development also comes a week before a rally by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition party in Islamabad on September 8. The rally was initially planned for July to build pressure for Khan’s release from prison following his arrest over a year ago, but the party had rescheduled it for August 22.
The PTI once again postponed the gathering this month after the Islamabad administration denied permission for the event, citing security threats and a lack of resources with security agencies.
The capital police urged the public to avoid participating in any “unauthorized” political activities that could disrupt the law-and-order environment, according to the APP report.
“We ask everyone to cooperate with these measures to help us maintain peace and security,” the police spokesperson said.