Invasion not protest? Pak panics, keeps hospitals ready for PTI's free-Imran march

Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, has been walled off with at least 20,000 shipping containers, welded together and fitted with outward-facing metal spikes, ahead of PTI's September 27 march demanding the release of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Reports suggest that the establishment is panicking, creating space in hospitals and keeping additional blood bags ready. The march is being backed by the Jamaat-e-Islami and farmers organisations.

Hospitals in Islamabad, the capital, have been directed to prepare for a potential "humanitarian crisis" and "mass casualty incident". Non-essential surgeries are being postponed, and stable patients discharged to make space for a possible influx of casualties. According to Pakistani daily Dawn, Islamabad hospitals have been told to maintain reserves of at least 100 bags of blood and keep all ambulances and their drivers functional and ready for emergencies.

More than 20,000 police personnel are being brought from Punjab and Sindh to Islamabad ahead of the September 27 march. The Punjab government has called in the federal paramilitary force, Pakistan Rangers, in Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Mianwali, reported BBC Urdu on Wednesday.

The mobilisation comes even as the Jamaat-e-Islami launched protests over soaring fuel prices, and backed the PTI march. Farmers too have announced plans to march on the capital, alongside the supporters of Imran Khan. At least two such bodies, the Kissan Ittehad Pakistan and the PTI's peasants wing, are planning protests.

According to Al Jazeera's Pakistan correspondent Kamal Hyder, many Pakistanis believe the government has "panicked" because it is unsure how large the protests converging on Islamabad could become.

So, Islamabad is bracing for multiple protest marches in the coming days. Commenting on the scale of the preparations, Pakistani daily Dawn said in a September 22 editorial, "Given the rate at which containers are being laid out, trenches being dug, and additional security requisitioned, it seems that the government is preparing not for a political event but an invasion."

To halt the advancing PTI supporters, the Asim Munir-led establishment has placed long lines of containers, which have repeatedly been used to block PTI marches into Islamabad. But, in previous marches, protesters have climbed over, pushed down and physically removed such barricades. This time, the establishment is welding containers together and filling them with sand and gravel to make them far harder to shift — elaborate preparations for a protest that the establishment's blue-eyed boy, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, has called the PTI's "drama."

The PTI's September 27 march has been called to demand Imran Khan's release from prison. Khan has been in jail since August 2023 and is currently serving a 14-year sentence in the Al-Qadir Trust land corruption case, one of more than 100 cases brought against him since his 2022 ouster. Commuters ride past shipping containers placed around Islamabad's Red Zone. (AFP Image)

Apart from Khan's release, the PTI has raised concerns over constitutional rights and the rule of law in Pakistan, where Asim Munir has amassed unprecedented powers, including command over all three armed forces and lifetime legal immunity, making him the de facto ruler of Pakistan.

The civilian government has said that it would not allow protesters to block roads or disrupt life in the capital. The Islamabad High Court has also ruled that political parties have no legal right to occupy roads, highways or other public places. PTI, however, has insisted the march will go ahead, saying "lakhs of its workers are ready", even as the establishment is bracing for impact.PAKISTAN HOSPITALS PREPARE FOR A CASUALTY SURGE

The most striking indication of what the authorities are preparing for has come from hospitals in Islamabad. US-based investigative outlet Drop Site News reported that Islamabad's hospitals were placed on emergency footing.

Blood banks have been told to maintain reserves of at least 100 bags, ambulances and their drivers are to remain ready, and stocks of medicines, medical supplies and oxygen are to be maintained. Emergency departments have also been instructed to reserve beds.

A separate circular quoted by Karachi-based daily Dawn directed officials to make arrangements for a possible "mass casualty situation or surge" and keep emergency and ambulance access routes clear. Hospitals in the federal capital have been placed on high alert until September 30.

Drop Site News, citing documents and people familiar with the preparations, said scheduled elective surgeries were being postponed indefinitely, and surgical departments reconfigured for a potential influx of casualties. Leave for medical, nursing, paramedical and support staff has been suspended, while employees already away have been recalled and patients considered stable or recovering are being discharged.

The documents, Drop Site reported, instructed hospitals to prepare for a potential "humanitarian crisis" and "mass casualty incident".ISLAMABAD WALLED OFF WITH CONTAINERS; NAILS ARE A NEW ADDITION

The preparations on the roads of Islamabad and the highways leading into the capital are also visible indicators that the establishment might be in a panic.

The shipping containers have been deployed at key points in Islamabad's Red Zone, and on the highway linking it to Attock, in the west. Attock, in Punjab about 95 km from Islamabad, is a strategic gateway linking the capital region with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Pashtun-majority province where PTI is in power and from where the main thrust of its September 27 march is expected to come.

Dawn reported Tuesday that more than 2,000 containers had already been deployed across Islamabad. Police expect between 20,000 and 25,000 protesters and have sought 827 million PKR for container rentals, accommodation, transportation and anti-riot equipment, including tear-gas shells and rubber bullets.

Geo News reported that containers were being welded together at several locations overnight. Punjab is also expected to send 19,000 police personnel to Islamabad, while Sindh is sending around 1,950, as the capital reinforces its own security deployment.

An on-ground report by Dunya News said D-Chowk had been completely sealed and containers placed in double layers and welded so they could not easily be removed. NADRA Chowk was also sealed, while containers were positioned around Serena Chowk, Marriott Chowk, Zero Point, Margalla Road, Srinagar Highway and approaches connecting Islamabad and Rawalpindi.Haider Majeed, a lawyer and a former legal adviser to Imran Khan, claimed on X that the government had prepared "special containers" with nails fixed to their outer sides "so that the containers cannot be pushed to the side even with force."Several people described the welded barricades stretching across Islamabad as the "Great Wall of China 2.0".

The preparations come days after a widening crackdown on PTI leaders and Imran Khan family members.IMRAN KHAN'S FAMILY, PTI LEADERS DETAINED

All three of Imran Khan's sisters — Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Uzma Khan — were detained last week under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law and shifted to Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail for 30 days. Aleema's sons were also briefly detained before being released, reported BBC Urdu.

In PTI-stronghold Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, provincial minister Fazal Shakoor Khan was on Monday intercepted near a toll plaza by armed men in black uniforms and plain clothes. His vehicle's tyres were fired upon and the minister taken to an unknown location. The provincial PTI government described it as an abduction.

Geo News reported on Tuesday that six PTI lawmakers detained in Islamabad had been shifted to Jhelum Jail under the MPO. PTI chairman Barrister Gohar, meanwhile, claimed 1,500 party supporters had been detained across the country.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who is an aide of Asim Munir, warned the PTI against proceeding with the march. The government, he said, would adopt measures "once and for all" to prevent the country from being shut for prolonged periods by demonstrations.

So, September 27 will test PTI's ability to bring its supporters to Islamabad, as the party has claimed time and again. It would also test the establishment's willingness to keep PTI members and supporters out of the capital's heart. It remains to be seen if the establishment adopts the measures "once and for all" as its mouthpiece Naqvi has suggested.- EndsPublished By: Sushim MukulPublished On: Sep 23, 2026 14:43 IST