10,000 Police Forces Deployed in Islamabad as Opposition Rally Kicks Off

A total of 10,000 police personnel has been deployed in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad to ensure security at a rally held by the Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition movement, local media reported Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On Tuesday, hundreds of PTI supporters attempted to enter Islamabad to join a major anti-government meeting, due to be held the following day. According to media reports, PTI head Imran Khan demanded that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif step down, as he had allegedly been engaged in rigging the elections and corruption. As the protesters were preparing the rally, the Supreme Court ordered a probe into the Panama Papers scandal involving corruption allegations against Sharif's family, which made the opposition transform the planned protest into what they called a celebratory rally.

According to the Dawn broadcaster, there are three entry points to the rally — one for media, one for VIPs and one for general public. Khan and other senior PTI members arrived at the rally and are expected to address the public later in the day.

According to other media reports, the rally is expected to finish at 10 p.m. local time (17:00 GMT).

In late October, media reported that the Pakistani government banned all political meetings and protests in the capital, Islamabad, ahead of the November 2 planned opposition march. As PTI tried to enter Islamabad to join the rally, some of its members clashed with police, which resulted in the deaths if two opposition members. According to media report, up to 2,000 opposition members were detained, but the police released them earlier on Wednesday.