Govt rejects reports on Islamabad roads closure, says containers placed as precaution

• Containers placed in compliance with IHC directions: info ministry.
• Aljazeera “selectively” portrayed measures as blockades: ministry.
• Such angled reporting creates negative impression: info ministry.

The federal government on Saturday rejected “misleading” reports about the closure of roads across Islamabad ahead of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) planned October 4 long march, saying containers have been placed in the federal capital as a precaution.

The rebuttal comes after Aljazeerareported that 1,500 to 2,000 shipping containers have been seized by the federal government to barricade the federal capital’s roads ahead of the march.

The Imran Khan-founded PTI had earlier postponed its planned long march towards the federal capital from September 27 to October 4.

The former ruling party has said the protest is aimed at seeking the release of its jailed founding chairman Imran Khan and what it describes as the restoration of constitutional supremacy.

Despite Friday’s talks between the government and opposition, the PTI remains determined to proceed with its long march towards the capital.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has previously said that the government will adopt a permanent strategy to handle the PTI long march towards Islamabad, warning that the country will not be allowed to remain shut for 10 to 20 days due to demonstrations.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a fact-check statement on the report about the road closures, saying the containers have been placed as a precaution in Islamabad in compliance with the Islamabad High Court’s directions to protect citizens’ lives, property and lawful movement.

“The preventive security measures seek to safeguard public infrastructure and sensitive installations keeping in view the past violent practices of the instance party,” the ministry wrote in the post.

“As expected, Aljazeera selectively portrayed these measures as ‘road blockades,’ ignoring the facts that all roads are open and the preventive judicial and security context related to State’s responsibility to maintain public order,” it added.

The information minister maintained that such angled reporting purposefully created a misleading and negative impression, saying the “fallacy of lies and propaganda” by Aljazeera cannot substitute facts.