Govt spends Rs700m to stop expected PTI long march
The federal government has made a huge expenditure of Rs700 million prior to the announcement of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march in Islamabad.
ISLAMABAD: The federal government has made a huge expenditure of Rs700 million prior to the announcement of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march in Islamabad in the name of rehearsals and preparations.
The federal capital Islamabad was already turned into a container city as several roads leading towards Red Zone and other government buildings were blocked. Additional contingents of military and paramilitary troops were also summoned by the Islamabad administration to assist the Islamabad police.
پی ٹی آئی لانگ مارچ ، اسلام آباد میں پولیس ، ایس ایف سی اور رینجرز کی مشقیں شروع ، پتھراؤ ، آنسو گیس ، غلیل سے مظاہرین کو روکنے اور گرفتار کرنے کی شارٹ مشقیں کرائی جارہی ہیں @ICT_Police @SdqJaan @PTIofficial @dcislamabad pic.twitter.com/YYcJCeBqQy
— Shakeel Qarar (@Qarar009) October 7, 2022
Moreover, a huge amount of money was spent on the purchases of teargas shells and rubber bullets.
According to Islamabad police, at least 60,000 teargas shells – including 40,000 teargas shells purchased at the cost of Rs75 million – and 30,000 rubber bullets were also being arranged to counter the long march, adding that about 25,000 officials and officers from the Sindh police, Rangers, and FC will be deployed to maintain law and order.
PTI long march: Govt decides to put Imran Khan under house arrest
Some footages showed that the containers were being deployed in Faizabad, GT Road, New Margalla Road in Sangjani, the Nogazi shrine on Fateh Jang road, Nogazi Faisal Town, 26 No chungi and other localities.
It was learnt that the government allocated Rs500 million for security arrangements to counter the PTI march.
Yesterday, it emerged that the federal government decided to put Imran Khan to put under house arrest under the Maintainance of Public Ordinance (MPO) besides sealing the whole federal capital with containers for one week and suspending cellular services under the new plan.
Some media reports suggested that Metro bus services will also be suspended in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, whereas, the authorities will check citizens’ CNICs and other documents for allowing to enter the federal capital.
Moreover, the government was also considering to close educational institutions and impose a ban on catering services and shops providing sound system for public gatherings.
It is pertinent to mention here that PTI chief Imran Khan has not yet announced the date of the Islamabad long march and hinted at making a surprise announcement very soon.
