Toshakhana 2: Following the Toshakhana 2 verdict, Imran Khan is urging party leaders to prepare for protests, and Rawalpindi is getting ready for them
Toshakhana 2: Following a call for demonstrations by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, officials have put Rawalpindi on high alert, sending over 1,300 police officers and security professionals around the city to ensure that peace and order doesn’t collapse. Senior police officials, inspectors, constables, members of the Anti-Riots Management Wing, Rapid Emergency and Security Operations (RESO) staff, and Elite Force commandos are all part of the deployment. The actions were characterized by officials as preventative, with the goal of preventing disturbances in sensitive regions.
Following the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami’s Sunday announcement of rallies across Punjab against what it called the “Black Local Government Act 2025,” security measures were reinforced even further. Because of the possibility of overlapping protests by several political organizations, officials said the notification triggered extra surveillance.
According to the Express Tribune, 400 members of the Anti-Riots Management Wing, seven sections of Elite Force commandos, 22 RESO personnel, 29 inspectors and station house officers, 340 constables, 92 upper subordinates, and two superintendents of police were deployed.
In the Toshakhana 2 case, Khan and his wife were sentenced.
The increased protection follows the announcement by PTI that Imran Khan, 73, and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, were both given 17 years in jail in the Toshakhana 2 case. A special court within the high-security Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, where Khan has been detained since August 2023, handed down the decision on Saturday.
A message purportedly from Khan surfaced on his X account early on Sunday, just after the court’s ruling, asking party officials to be ready for a protest movement. He urged people to stand up for their rights, characterizing the ruling as the outcome of a “military-style trial decision.” “I have instructed Sohail Afridi, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to be ready for the street protest. “The country as a whole will need to stand up for its rights,” the message said.
Since Khan is incarcerated and does not have direct access to his social media accounts, it was first unclear who submitted the remark. Additionally, neither a schedule nor the locations of the planned demonstrations were mentioned in the text.
Authorities Stay Alert Authorities indicated that the combination of Jamaat-e-Islami’s planned protests and PTI’s call for a protest has sparked worries about possible turmoil. Security organizations emphasized that preventative measures are still in place to uphold law and order and stop any escalation while confirming that they are keeping a careful eye on the situation in Rawalpindi and other areas of Punjab.