ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has called off its protest in Islamabad today, Tuesday, over a ban on meetings with its jailed leader, a senior PTI member said, as Pakistan welcomes foreign dignitaries arriving in the capital for a regional summit.
Pakistan is hosting a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) Council of Heads of Government in Islamabad on Oct. 15-16, at which participants are expected to discuss issues relating to trade, economic cooperation, security and regional stability.
Khan’s PTI last week announced a protest on the D-Chowk square in the federal capital after the Punjab provincial administration restricted meetings with inmates at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where the ex-premier is imprisoned on multiple charges, in view of a threat alert issued by authorities in the lead-up to the summit.
But in a statement issued in wee hours of Tuesday, Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari, a former federal minister and Khan aide, said the party had postponed its protest in Islamabad after being urged by political allies and embassies of friendly countries to do so in view of the SCO summit in Islamabad.
“We have called off this protest for the betterment of Pakistan, for the betterment of Imran Khan, for the betterment of PTI,” Bukhari said. “We wish all the countries here a very successful summit.”
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Chinese Premier Li Qiang are among senior regional government officials attending the two-day conference on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In the weeks leading up to the summit, Pakistan’s authorities cracked down hard on dissent, banning an ethnic nationalist movement and introducing new laws that restricted protest in the capital. They also arrested hundreds of Khan supporters who attempted to march in Islamabad earlier this month.
Islamabad also authorized the deployment of troops on the streets for the duration of the summit.
“When summits happen or conventions happen, protests happening at the same time in the country are very normal across the world,” Bukhari said.
“Let it be the US, let it be the UK and Pakistan shouldn’t be treated any differently. Our intention was never to harm the ongoing summit.”
PTI’s last protest led to clashes between its workers and law enforcement personnel, leading to dozens of arrests and injuries to a large number of cops one of whom died after being subjected to alleged torture by the protesters.
Khan, jailed since August last year, was ousted from the PM’s office in 2022 in a parliamentary vote of no confidence after what is widely believed to be a falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military, which denies being involved in politics.
Since his removal, Khan and his party have waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the military.
