Islamabad march: 2,000 containers, 18,000 borrowed police, 24 schools shut from today

Updated Tuesday 22 September, 11:15pm: the National Highways and Motorway Police has now announced that the M-1 closes in both directions from the Islamabad Toll Plaza to Chach, the M-14 closes from Hakla to Kundal, and the GT Road N-5 closes at Attock Khurd, from Wednesday evening. Dawn reports the M-1 shutting at 11pm. See the full interchange list. Separately, Jamaat-e-Islami has deferred its own long march after a call from the Prime Minister, so the restrictions below are aimed at the PTI date of 27 September. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Tuesday that the government would enforce the law and implement the Islamabad High Court's orders if a sit-in goes ahead.

Islamabad and Rawalpindi began sealing up on Tuesday for the PTI long march due to start on 27 September. Police expect 20,000 to 25,000 protesters and want the whole security plan in place by the evening of 26 September.

The numbers, from the Islamabad police request:

• Rs 827 million asked for to cover the operation.
• 16,000 personnel requested from Punjab Police and 2,000 from Sindh Police.
• 30,000 personnel deployed across Attock district, the choke point on the GT Road route from Peshawar.
• 7,000 anti-riot kits requested.
• Three deputy inspectors general, seven senior superintendents and 18 superintendents called in from Punjab and Sindh.

Containers: over 2,000

More than 2,000 containers are being moved into Islamabad and Attock. Contractors have committed 1,550, of which 350 are for the Red Zone alone. Around 1,000 are to block entry points, major roads and the high security zone. They are welded together and filled with gravel and sand, which is why a container wall takes days to clear once the protest is over.

Seven designated entry points into the Red Zone are to be closed, including Khayaban-i-Suhrawardy, the Old Parade Ground and Jinnah Avenue approach, and Aga Khan Road.

Roads to avoid

Restrictions are planned on the Expressway, Srinagar Highway, Margalla Road and Faisal Avenue. In practice that covers almost every way in and out of the Blue Area and the secretariat, so anyone commuting from Rawalpindi or the Bahria and DHA side should assume long diversions from 26 September onwards.

Schools

Twenty-four educational institutions in Islamabad are closed from Tuesday, 22 September. Several of the buildings are being used to house police contingents, along with the Sports Complex and the Pak-China Friendship Centre. Schools and colleges in Hazro, in Attock district, have also been shut temporarily.

Who is marching

PTI is the main organiser. Jamaat-i-Islami, which has been running a separate march against the petroleum levy that reached Multan this week, and the Kissan Ittehad are also mobilising. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has offered talks on the levy.

The levy is the reason the fuel bill keeps climbing even when oil falls. Petrol went to Rs 393.75 a litre from midnight on Monday. You can see the trend on the petrol price page and work out what a diversion costs you with the fuel cost calculator.