ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Friday said law-enforcement personnel had been given clear “rules of engagement” to respond if fired upon during planned opposition protests in Islamabad, as authorities braced for demonstrations in the federal capital and warned against attempts to block the city.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan plans to march on Islamabad on Sept. 27 to demand his release, while the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) is separately mobilizing supporters for a protest against a petroleum levy and rising fuel prices.

“This time, we are giving very clear rules of engagement to our soldiers and there is no possibility that if you shoot them, they will remain silent,” Naqvi told reporters at a televised news conference.

Urging opposition leaders to hold protests in their own cities, Naqvi said: “You must definitely protest if you do it in your area, in your city. But planning to come and close the federal capital ... cannot be allowed in any way.”

Naqvi invoked a detailed Islamabad High Court judgment on PTI’s planned Sept. 27 march that said political parties and leaders had no lawful right to block roads, highways or other public places in ways that obstructed citizens’ movement or access to schools and hospitals.

The court also directed provincial governments not to use public funds, officials, vehicles or other state machinery to facilitate political marches, and ordered authorities to protect the constitutional rights of Islamabad residents.

Naqvi said law-enforcement agencies had been instructed to enforce the ruling and authorities would use legal means to stop anyone attempting to violate it.

PTI has previously led large protests in Islamabad seeking Khan’s release, including a November 2024 march spearheaded by then-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur that turned deadly.

Thousands of supporters, many from the PTI-ruled northwestern province, converged on the capital and clashed with law-enforcement personnel. At least four paramilitary soldiers were among those killed, while PTI also reported deaths among its supporters, allegations that became a major point of contention between the party and the government.

The federal government and PTI’s political opponents have repeatedly accused the party of using KP’s official resources to support such mobilizations, allegations that have resurfaced ahead of the Sept. 27 march.

Khan, who served as prime minister from 2018 until his ouster in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022, has been imprisoned since August 2023 and has faced a series of criminal cases. He has denied wrongdoing and PTI says the cases against him are politically motivated.

Naqvi also criticized the KP government for devoting resources to political mobilization while the province faces militant violence, pointing to a deadly attack in Kohat earlier on Friday.

He said political rallies and peaceful protests were legitimate but warned against what he described as armed or organized groups descending on the capital. He added that the organizers would be held responsible for any casualties resulting from such an attempt.