Security around Adiala Jail was placed on high alert on Friday, with authorities enforcing a special plan involving a large deployment of police and anti-riot units amid continued protests by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers.

Police established five security pickets on routes leading to the jail, deploying heavy contingents in two 12-hour shifts.

According to officials, SHOs from 12 police stations, along with women personnel, have been stationed around the facility.

The deployed units are equipped with rubber bullets, tear-gas launchers, batons, shields and full anti-riot gear to respond to any disturbance.

Traffic police have also assigned ten officers, supported by a lifter, to maintain traffic flow in the surrounding area.

Adiala Jail’s guard force will remain on standby once their court duties conclude.

The security operation is being supervised directly by SP Saddar Anum Sher.

In total, 23 inspectors and more than 700 police personnel and officers have been deployed.

The heightened security comes as PTI workers continue intermittent sit-ins following rumours about the health of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan. PTI supporters have repeatedly attempted to secure a meeting with him.

Earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, Aleema Khan, and other party leaders joined the protest outside the jail.

CM Afridi later ended the sit-in and proceeded to the Islamabad High Court, where no hearing took place.

Police maintained a strong presence throughout the demonstrations as PTI workers chanted slogans and gathered for Maghrib prayers at the site.

Authorities say security will remain tightened until the situation stabilises.

As tensions heightened, federal Information Minister Atta Tarar issued a strong statement on X, urging PTI to abandon what he called an “anti-state narrative” and prioritise national interest.

Tarar accused PTI, including CM Afridi, of pursuing a political approach that sidelines governance and focuses solely on seeking political direction from a party founder jailed on corruption charges, in violation of prison rules.

He said a province on the frontline against terrorism could not afford such misplaced priorities.

The minister further alleged that a PTI female politician helped fuel a malicious online campaign about Imran Khan through anti-Pakistan accounts operating from Afghanistan and amplified by Indian media, harming the country’s international reputation.

Calling the behaviour “open hostility to Pakistan,” Tarar said it was time for PTI to drop its “anti-state stance” and put the interests of the state and people first.

Police remained heavily deployed around the protest site as PTI workers continued chanting slogans through the day.