Lahore, Nov 22 (PTI) Pakistan's Punjab government on Friday imposed Section 144 across the province, banning all public gatherings, protests, rallies, processions, and sit-ins for three days in anticipation of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party's protest rally in Islamabad on November 24.
According to the notification, all forms of protests, public gatherings, rallies and sit-ins have been prohibited from November 23 to November 25.
The government said the decision to impose Section 144 was taken to ensure peace and protect lives and property.
"Any public gathering can become a soft target for terrorists. Miscreants might exploit public gatherings to carry out anti-state activities and achieve their malicious objectives," it said.
Some 22,000 policemen and rangers have arrived in Islamabad to prevent the PTI from holding the protest march.
Besides hundreds of containers have been placed in Islamabad and Rawalpindi and motorways leasing to the twin cities have been closed.
The PTI said it would hold the protest march to Islamabad on November 24 at any cost to press for its demands which include Khan's release as well as the release of other PTI prisoners from jail, the return stolen mandate of the PTI, and restore independence of judiciary.
Khan, 72, has been in jail in multiple cases since August 2023 last year.
Police have already launched a crackdown on PTI supporters and arrested more than 350 in Lahore and elsewhere ahead of the protest march in Islamabad on Sunday.