ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Punjab government imposed a ban on all kinds of public gatherings throughout the province on Friday after jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party called for nationwide protests to demand his release.
In a video statement earlier this week, PTI leader and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser urged Khan supporters to come out on the streets across the nation on Friday to demand Khan’s release from prison.
The former prime minister has been in jail since August 2023 after he was convicted by a local court on corruption charges. Khan denies the allegations, saying they are politically motivated to keep him and the PTI away from Pakistani politics.
“It has been observed that in view of the prevailing law and order situation and security threats, any gathering/ assembly is likely to provide soft targets to terrorists and miscreants,” a notification issued by the Punjab Home Department said.
“Which not only pose serious security threats but is also likely to cause threat to public at peace and order as well as inconvenience to public at large.”
The notification said the government was imposing Section 144, which empowers the administration to ban any activity in the general interest of the public for a specific time period, across Punjab for a period of seven days.
The notification said assemblies, gatherings, sit-ins, rallies, processions, demonstrations, protests and other such activities have been prohibited across the province effective immediately.
PTI leader Raoof Hasan criticized Punjab government’s “shameful” decision in a post on social media platform X.
“It reflects how mortified they are of the person of @ImranKhanPTI & his vision of an independent & sovereign Pakistan where its people would become the true arbiters of their fate,” Hasan wrote.
Khan’s tensions with the government and Pakistan’s powerful military came to a head on May 9 2023 when angry supporters took to the streets and attacked government and military installations following his brief detention in a land corruption case.
The move sparked a nationwide crackdown launched by the government against Khan’s party which saw several PTI leaders and supporters rounded up in jails. Many Khan aides announced parting ways with him following the crackdown on his party. Pakistan’s military announced it would try those involved in the May 9 violence in military courts.
Khan initially said the protests were a natural reaction by his supporters but later distanced himself from it, blaming Pakistan’s intelligence agencies for instigating the riots. Pakistan’s military and government rubbished his allegations.
Pakistan bans public gatherings in largest province as ex-PM Khan’s party announces protests
https://arab.news/n552h
Pakistan bans public gatherings in largest province as ex-PM Khan’s party announces protests
- Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party called for nationwide protests on Friday to demand his release from prison
- Punjab government imposes ban on public gatherings, rallies, protests, sit-ins and demonstrations for seven days
Pakistan’s space agency says country will witness first supermoon of 2026 on Saturday
- The supermoon will coincide with the Quadrantid meteor shower, which peaks in early January
- The space agency says no further supermoon will occur until a new cycle begins in Nov. 2026
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will witness the first supermoon of 2026 on Saturday evening, a rare celestial event that will coincide with the Quadrantid meteor shower, which is active in early January, the country’s space agency said Friday.
The Jan. 3 supermoon will be the last in a cycle that began in October 2025, while also marking the first supermoon of the new year. Supermoons occur when a full moon coincides with the Moon’s closest approach to Earth, making it appear larger and brighter than usual.
“The January 3 supermoon, traditionally known as the Wolf Moon, marks the final supermoon of the ongoing cycle began in October 2025,” Pakistan’s national space agency, SUPARCO, said in a statement, adding that it also “simultaneously represents the first supermoon of 2026.”
The agency said the supermoon would rise in Pakistan at 5:51 p.m. local time on Jan. 3 and remain visible through the nights of Jan. 3 and Jan. 4, with illumination reaching 99.8 percent.
According to SUPARCO, the Moon will be at a distance of about 362,312 kilometers (225,130 miles) from Earth during the event, making it appear six to seven percent larger and up to 10 percent brighter than a typical full moon.
The astronomical significance of the event will be enhanced by its timing.
“The supermoon of Jan 3 offers an early highlight among the year’s celestial events such as coinciding with the peak activity of the Quadrantid meteor shower during the same time period,” the statement said.
SUPARCO noted that supermoons usually occur in clusters of three to four consecutive events and said the current cycle would conclude with Friday’s phenomenon.
“The next supermoon cycle starts in November 2026,” the agency said, adding that there would be no further supermoon after this until the end of 2026.
