LAHORE: Punjab has shifted into a heightened security footing, banning public gatherings across the province until October 5, asking the federal government for Rangers in four northern districts, and seeking the jamming of mobile and internet signals in parts of Rawalpindi and Attock from September 27.
The three decisions were set out in separate official statements issued by the Punjab Home Department’s spokesperson on Wednesday, September 23. In each, the department said the steps were being taken to maintain law and order, adding that protecting the lives and property of citizens remains the foremost priority of the Government of Punjab.
The measures arrive days before Sunday, September 27, the date on which Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced a march on Islamabad to press for the release of its founder, Imran Khan. The official statements do not name any political party, and instead cite intelligence warnings of possible terrorist attacks on public gatherings.
According to the notification, the Home Secretary Punjab has invoked Section 144(6) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, placing a complete ban on gatherings, processions or assemblies of five or more people at public places, roads, highways and open spaces. Carrying and displaying weapons of any kind in public has also been barred, as has inciting or encouraging people to take part in unlawful assemblies.
The notification states that law enforcement and intelligence agencies have reported imminent security threats. Intelligence reports, it says, indicate that terrorist organisations are planning to target public gatherings, meaning rallies, public meetings, sit-ins, processions and demonstrations could become easy targets. Law enforcement agencies had requested immediate preventive measures, the department added.
Everyday religious and social life has been carved out of the ban. Marriage ceremonies, funeral prayers, burials, mosques and other places of worship are exempt, as are courts, government institutions and events held with official permission. Personnel of law enforcement, intelligence and security agencies performing official duties are also excluded.
This is the second province-wide order of its kind this month. Punjab had earlier imposed Section 144 across the province until September 17 amid a separate round of terror alerts.
In a separate letter to the Federal Ministry of Interior, the Home Department has sought the deployment of Rangers in Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Mianwali. The spokesperson said the request covers three companies of Rangers in Rawalpindi, five wings in Attock, and one company each in Jhelum and Mianwali. The contingents are to assist the Punjab Police until October 5, 2026.
The deployment was approved at the 59th meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Law and Order, and the letter was sent on the Punjab Police’s request for security assistance. According to the spokesperson, the Rangers will be deployed under Article 245 of the Constitution of Pakistan, Sections 4 and 5 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, and Sections 7(b) and 10 of the Pakistan Rangers Ordinance, 1959. Article 245 is the constitutional provision under which the federal government calls in armed forces to act in aid of civil power.
The request follows a provincial apex committee review of the security situation chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.
A third letter to the Interior Ministry seeks the downgrading of mobile and internet services in the Rawalpindi region from September 27. The Home Department has asked for 2G, 3G and 4G network jamming at specified locations in Rawalpindi district and for services to be downgraded in specified areas of Attock.
On the motorway, downgrading and jamming have been requested in the areas of Brahma Bahtar, Gunjo, Ahatta, Taxila City, Wah Sadar, Thallian and Chakri. The spokesperson said the decision was taken on the request of the police. The statement says the restrictions would stay in place for an indefinite period of time.
The affected belt sits on the main road and motorway corridor linking Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Islamabad and Rawalpindi. For residents, commuters and small businesses there, weakened signals are likely to disrupt calls, ride-hailing, digital payments and online work, so travellers on these routes would be well advised to plan ahead.
PTI has said it will go ahead with its plans. Party Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, speaking outside Parliament House earlier this week, reiterated that the September 27 march would take place and said it would be “completely peaceful,” according to reports. Visiting Lahore on Wednesday, he criticised what he called the political victimisation of the party’s leadership and of Imran Khan’s family, called for dialogue and rejected allegations that PTI planned to attack state institutions.
PTI’s Rawalpindi district president, Chaudhry Ameer Afzal, said that 41 party workers and activists had been arrested in the district over two days and shifted to Bhakkar, but insisted the party would keep mobilising supporters. The detentions have been challenged before the Lahore High Court. Earlier this month, several PTI leaders were detention in Punjab and Islamabad.
The ruling PML-N and the federal government have taken a firm line. At a press conference in Lahore on September 21, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi urged PTI not to enter a “dead-end street” and said the Islamabad High Court’s order on the march would be implemented in letter and spirit. That order, among other things, barred the use of provincial state resources for the march.
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari has alleged that a third attempt at rebellion is being planned for September 27 and urged parents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to keep their children away from it.
Jamaat-e-Islami, which wound up its Lahore sit-in to focus on an Islamabad long march, has for now paused. JI chief Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman suspended the party’s train march towards Islamabad at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s request, with workers staying in Multan pending talks.
Officials have repeatedly pointed to a rising militant threat. Punjab’s Counter Terrorism Department has been carrying out intelligence-based operations across the province, while attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have continued. Rights groups and opposition parties, however, have long argued that blanket assembly bans and internet shutdowns during political mobilisations restrict constitutional freedoms and hurt ordinary citizens.
The Rangers deployment and the telecom restrictions now rest with the Federal Ministry of Interior. The Section 144 order is already in force and runs until October 5, the same date on which the Rangers’ assignment is due to end. With PTI holding to its march and the government signalling zero tolerance for road blockades, the coming days will test both the province’s security plan and the space for peaceful political protest.
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