Police officers stand guard on an entry point to a motorway leading to Islamabad, which has been closed by authorities due to a planned rally by supporters of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, in Lahore, Pakistan, on Nov. 23.K.m. Chaudary/The Associated Press
Pakistani police arrested thousands of Imran Khan supporters ahead of a rally in the capital to demand the ex-premier’s release from prison, a security officer said Sunday.
Mr. Khan has been behind bars for more than a year and has over 150 criminal cases against him. But he remains popular and his political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or PTI, says the cases are politically motivated.
Shahid Nawaz, a security officer in eastern Punjab province, said police have arrested more than 4,000 Khan supporters. They include five parliamentarians.
Pakistan has sealed off Islamabad with shipping containers and shut down major roads and highways connecting the city with PTI strongholds in Punjab and northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
Tit-for-tat tear gas shelling between the police and the PTI was reported on the highway bordering Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Earlier on Sunday, Pakistan suspended mobile and internet services “in areas with security concerns.”
The government and Interior Ministry posted the announcement on the social media platform X, which is banned in Pakistan. They did not specify the areas, nor did they say how long the suspension would be in place.
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“Internet and mobile services will continue to operate as usual in the rest of the country,” the posts said.
Meanwhile, telecom company Nayatel sent out e-mails offering customers “a reliable land line service” as a workaround in the areas suffering suspended cellphone service.
Mr. Khan’s supporters rely heavily on social media to demand his release and use messaging platforms like WhatsApp to share information, including details of events.
PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram said Mr. Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi was travelling to Islamabad in a convoy led by the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur.
“She cannot leave the party workers on their own,” said Mr. Akram.
There was a festive mood in Peshawar, with PTI members dancing, drumming and holding up pictures of Mr. Khan as cars set off for Islamabad.
The government is imposing social-media platform bans and targeting VPN services, according to internet advocacy group Netblocks. On Sunday, the group said live metrics showed problems with WhatsApp that were affecting media sharing on the app.
The U.S. Embassy issued a security alert for Americans in the capital, encouraging them to avoid large gatherings and warning that even “peaceful gatherings can turn violent.”
Last month, authorities suspended cellphone service in Islamabad and Rawalpindi to thwart a pro-Khan rally. The shutdown disrupted communications and affected everyday services such as banking, ride-hailing and food delivery.
The latest crackdown comes on the eve of a visit by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said authorities have sealed off Islamabad’s Red Zone, which houses key government buildings and is the destination for Mr. Khan’s supporters.
“Anyone reaching it will be arrested,” Mr. Naqvi told a news conference.
He said the security measures were in place to protect residents and property, blaming the PTI for inconveniencing people and businesses.
He added that protesters were planning to take the same route as the Belarusian delegation, but that the government had headed off this scenario.
Mr. Naqvi denied cellphone services were suspended and said only mobile data was affected.
A Pakistani government team mediated a seven-day ceasefire deal between rival sectarian groups on Sunday, halting days of clashes that have killed at least 68 people and injured dozens in the northwest of the country, one of the mediators said.
The violence began when gunmen attacked convoys of civilian vehicles on Thursday, killing at least 40 people, mostly Shiite Muslims. That sparked retaliatory attacks against Sunni Muslim residents and there have been pitched battles between armed groups from both sides.
Armed Shiite and Sunni Muslims have engaged in tribal and sectarian rivalry for decades over a land dispute in Kurram district near the Afghanistan border.
“Both sides have agreed to a week-long ceasefire which is expected to be extended,” Muhammad Ali Saif, a member of the mediation team, told Reuters by phone, adding that major clashes had already stopped.
Mr. Saif, who is also the Information Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Kurram is located, said both sides had also agreed to exchange prisoners, including women, and the bodies of those killed in the clashes.
The prisoners and bodies will be exchanged with assistance from Pakistani paramilitary forces.
The team flew into Parachinar, Kurram’s main city, on Saturday and met Shiite and Sunni tribal leaders with the entire district under virtual curfew and armed groups roaming the streets in many villages.
Mr. Saif said news of the ceasefire should also halt smaller skirmishes that had been reported in remote areas of the district.
Another member of the mediation team, Akhtar Hayat Gandapur, the police chief of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said Shiite leaders were demanding the immediate arrest of those involved in attacking passenger vehicles, as well as compensation for the victims and safety assurances for travellers.
The government is yet to identify or publicly name who the attackers were and no one has claimed responsibility.
Two government sources, who asked to remain anonymous owing to the sensitivity of the matter, said the death toll from retaliatory violence since Thursday’s bus attacks had risen to at least 28, putting the overall toll at 68.
Armed groups stormed into settlements inhabited by members of rival sects. Many homes have been evacuated, while markets and schools remain closed and several gas stations were set alight, the officials said.
They said they feared the death toll could rise as communications in the area are down, making information difficult to obtain.
With files from Reuters