ISLAMABAD: Dispelling the impression of any flexibility to allow the participants of the Azadi March into Islamabad, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Tuesday said anybody talking like hooligans and instigating violence would be stopped from entering the federal capital.

“If we once allowed any unruly crowd to enter Islamabad, there will be a new wave of hooligans arriving after a few months demanding to capture the seat of power. We cannot allow this because we do not want Pakistan to be turned into a Somalia, Iraq or Libya.”

Presiding over a meeting of officials from the Punjab, Islamabad police and the administrations of the twin cities, the interior minister stated that those who talked of breaking the bones of police personnel and even beheading their own workers cannot be allowed to walk freely into the federal capital.

“The police should be ready to defend the country and the citizens and not protecting the incumbent government,” he said.

“The police are to protect the nation, Islamic values, the democratic system along with the life and property of the citizens.”

The participants of the meeting reviewed the security situation in the country and focused on the measures to be taken to prevent the participants of the march from entering the capital.

“We should be ready to meet the security threats at all costs on August 14,” the minister added.

The meeting decided that the administrations of both cities would coordinate with each other to counter any untoward situation and nobody would be allowed to enter the Red Zone on and after August 14.

Around 21,000 personnel of the Islamabad and AJK police, Rangers and the Frontier Constabulary (FC) have already been deployed to maintain peace in the capital city.

The minister stressed that all the roads and pathways leading into Islamabad, especially the less known tracks, be monitored to check the identity of people entering the city.

“The government will not allow the occupation of the federal capital and make life miserable for the residents,” he said.

However, the minister added that all political activities being held within the parameters of the law and constitution would be respected and honoured.

At the same time, the officials were directed to ensure that there was a minimum amount of inconvenience to the residents of the twin cities.

Due to the extraordinary security measures, most of roads and paths that can be used by any vehicles, including motorcycles, have been closed by placing containers and digging trenches.

Though containers have been placed at the main arteries of the city, limited space has been left for light vehicles to pass through.

The situation has also led to a shortage of food items, including farm products, because the exit points of towns and cities in Punjab have also been contained.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2014