The federal capital was placed on high alert on Sunday, with security tightened in and around the Red Zone and at all entry points of the city ahead of the formal procedure to impose emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Police contingents from Islamabad, Sindh and Punjab were deployed at key locations including Faizabad, Aabpara, Serena Hotel crossing, Pir Sohawa, Club Road and Seventh Avenue. Prison vans, armoured personnel carriers and anti-riot gear were positioned at deployment points, while the Safe City authority was directed to monitor the law-and-order situation through its camera network. Major hospitals, including PIMS and Polyclinic, were also put on alert.
Key installations under special watch included the Presidency, the Prime Minister’s House, Parliament House, the Supreme Court, the Diplomatic Enclave and the Pak-Secretariat.
Meanwhile, the legal fraternity strongly condemned the federal government’s decision. The Sindh High Court Bar Association described the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in KP as undemocratic and announced that lawyers would observe a ‘black day’ on Monday in solidarity with the people of the province. It said peaceful protest is a fundamental democratic right that no citizen can be deprived of.
The Karachi Bar Association also announced a suspension of work at the City Courts from 11:30am on Monday and called a general body meeting to deliberate on the situation. Both bodies urged the authorities to respect the mandate of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and warned that extraordinary constitutional measures must be subjected to strict constitutional scrutiny.
