Islamabad, September 25, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Ahead of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) planned long march to Islamabad on September 27, police have detained more than 150 party leaders and workers in Rawalpindi division under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance, local media reported on Friday.
According to Dawn, police have been conducting door-to-door searches for PTI leaders and workers across Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Rawalpindi and Murree. Police have reportedly been directed to detain 463 PTI leaders and workers.
Authorities have also been monitoring 91 leaders and workers associated with the Insaf Student Federation and Insaf Lawyers Forum. Checks have reportedly been conducted at more than 2,000 homes and offices over the past 20 days.
Police have blocked roads, deployed personnel and taken security measures across all five districts of the Rawalpindi division ahead of the planned march.
More than 10,600 police personnel are expected to be deployed in Rawalpindi to maintain law and order during the PTI march. Additional police contingents from other districts have also started arriving in Rawalpindi.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government has imposed a 13-day ban on public gatherings across the province from September 23 to October 5, according to The Express Tribune. The order prohibits gatherings of five or more people in public places, streets, roads, highways, motorways and open spaces.
The provincial government has also sought the services of Pakistan Rangers for security assistance in Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Mianwali. It has requested the Federal Ministry of Interior to reduce mobile and internet services at selected locations in Rawalpindi and Attock from September 27.
The notification cited what it described as a “serious and imminent threat to public peace, tranquillity, and the safety of life and property” from militant or terrorist groups.
The developments come amid legal proceedings involving the sisters of former Pakistan Prime Minister and PTI founder Imran Khan.
On Thursday, the Lahore High Court declined to immediately suspend detention orders issued against Imran Khan’s sisters Uzma Khan and Noreen Niazi.
During the hearing, lawyers representing the two women argued that they were “non-political” and had been detained without justification. They also told the court that Uzma Khan had already been acquitted in a case registered against her.
The court issued notices to the respondents and sought their response before deciding on the request to suspend the detention orders.
The petition was filed after police arrested Imran Khan’s three sisters — Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Uzma Khan — following a 30-day detention order issued by the Lahore Deputy Commissioner under Section 3 of the MPO Ordinance.
The detention orders were issued ahead of the PTI’s planned protest demanding the release of Imran Khan.
FOLLOW NOW
