KP police warned against taking part in political activities as PTI plans to protest in Islamabad today

• DIG Security Division issues directives to KP police personnel. 
• Police directed to avoid participating in political activity.
• Asked to remain in their legal and geographical jurisdictions.
  

PESHAWAR: Police officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been directed to perform their duties within their legal and geographical jurisdictions amid concerns expressed by the Centre over use of state machinery by the PTI-led provincial government for political demonstration.

In an official circular sent to senior officers across the province, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Security Division Shakir Hussain Dawar reminded police personnel that they are duty-bound to maintain neutrality and must not take part in any form of political activity.

The directive reinforces existing rules that prohibit members of the law-enforcement force from aligning with a political group or joining their demonstrations and rallies.

The instructions come amid concerns within the federal government that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) may attempt to use the provincial police force for political purposes, as the party plans to stage a protest outside the Islamabad High Court (IHC) today.

PTI's KP chapter spokesperson Adeel Iqbal said the party had decided to hold the demonstration on December 2 (today). Speaking to Geo News on Saturday, he claimed: “This time, there will be a well-defined strategy for meeting the PTI founder.”

He warned that the party would respond to “any unlawful actions taken against them”, adding that the days of “those violating the Constitution were numbered”.

Chief Minister KP Sohail Afridi has repeatedly been denied permission to meet the incarcerated PTI founder in Adiala Jail — the latest refusal being the eighth since he took office. After the most recent denial last week, he spent the night outside the Adiala jail. 

He was later joined by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, head of the Tehreek Tahaffuz Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, Mishal Yousafzai, Senator Gurdeep Singh, Senator Rubina Naz, MNA Zulfiqar Ahmed and KP’s Information Minister Shafi Jan.

In view of today's protest announcement, authorities in the capital have reiterated that Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code remains in force in Islamabad, prohibiting protests, rallies or public gatherings. The district administration warned that action would be taken immediately against any unlawful activity.

“Police and other law-enforcement agencies have been put on high alert,” the statement said, adding that all security bodies would work together to maintain order. Citizens were advised to avoid activities declared unlawful under Section 144.

Meantime, Rawalpindi’s Deputy Commissioner Hasan Waqar Cheema also imposed Section 144 in the city from December 1 to 3.

Meanwhile, the sons of the imprisoned former prime minister have expressed fears that authorities may be concealing “something irreversible” about his condition after more than three weeks without any verifiable information regarding his well-being.

Kasim Khan told Reuters that despite a court-ordered right to weekly meetings, the family had not had direct contact with him, fuelling speculation about a possible transfer to some other undisclosed location or deterioration of his health.

The PTI founder has been in jail since August 2023, following his removal from office through a no-confidence vote in April 2022.