According to reports, the Punjab government has decided to shut down cellular services across the province in order to halt the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) planned long march towards Islamabad. According to media reports, Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz presided over a high-level meeting on Tuesday during which law enforcement agencies briefed him on measures taken to end the long march.
The chief minister was informed that mobile phone services would be discontinued in 350 locations across Punjab, including 20 in Lahore. According to reports, CM Hamza Shehbaz approved the shutdown of mobile phone services in these areas.
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan reiterated on Tuesday that he would lead a large convoy from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Islamabad on Wednesday, May 25.
During a press conference in Peshawar, the PTI chief urged the nation to unite against the ‘imported government,’ which he believes was ‘installed’ through a US-backed regime-change plot.
Imran Khan condemned the brutal police action against PTI leaders and workers across Punjab, and he urged the judiciary and military establishment to play their roles in preventing the government from turning the PTI’s peaceful long march into a bloody one.
His remarks come a day after the Punjab government launched a province-wide crackdown, arresting over 1,200 PTI workers and leaders ahead of the planned march. Some PTI leaders’ homes were raided, including Hammad Azhar, Waleed Iqbal, Usman Dar, Malik Ishtiaq, Mian Zafar, Yasir Gillani, Sadia Sohail, Firdous Ashiq Awan, Chaudhry Ikhlaq, and many others. Furthermore, the Rawalpindi police conducted multiple raids on Awami Muslim League leader Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, but he was not apprehended.
To read our blog on “Islamabad braces for a long march by the PTI as the crackdown intensifies,” click here