The Islamabad administration has decided to keep all educational institutions closed in the federal capital on Monday (tomorrow) as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf supporters march to the city seeking former prime minister Imran Khan’s release.
“It is notified that all public/private educational institutes shall remain closed on November 25, 2024 [Monday] within the revenue limits of Islamabad Capital Territory,” said the notification.
The decision to close schools has been made in light of the current situation, the official said and added that the notification would apply to all educational institutions in the federal capital.
This is the second time in a month that the administration has closed schools. The government also shut down educational institutions when the country hosted a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Islamabad on October 15 and 16.
Incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan has asked his supporters to march towards Islamabad on November 24 for democracy and judiciary. But Defence Minister Khawaja Asif believes the protest is akin to “insurrection” as the former ruling party allegedly wants to usurp the federal capital.
The PTI founder has set four demands for ending protests while his wife has stated that the date would only change if Khan is out of jail.
Khan’s PTI encountered a significant setback on Thursday when the Islamabad High Court ruled that no protests or rallies violating a recent law on public gatherings would be permitted over the weekend due to the visit of the Belarusian president.
The federal government has called in additional security troops to assist the capital city administration in maintaining order during the protest.
Convoys of PTI marched to the capital city from KP and Punjab in the afternoon despite roadblocks and court orders. But Khan’s party believes it was not heard in the case.
“Khan sahib is Khan sahib. He is the boss. He doesn’t recommend [it]. He orders we follow,” PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan said while appearing on Geo News show ‘Naya Pakistan’ on Saturday. “Final call means final call. Only Imran Khan can review it [the protest on November 24].”
