Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway M-1 to close from 11pm

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to close the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway M-1 from tomorrow night ahead of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) planned protest in Islamabad, sources told ARY News.

According to sources, the M-1 will be closed for all types of traffic from 11pm tomorrow.

However, the M-2 Lahore-Islamabad Motorway will remain open for all types of traffic, sources said.

Earlier, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi warned Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leadership against staging another sit-in in Islamabad.

“The government would strictly enforce the law and would not allow the capital or the country to be brought to a standstill,” Naqvi said while addressing a press conference in Lahore.

Speaking about the PTI’s planned protest and its demand for a medical examination of the party’s founder, Naqvi said the PTI leadership was currently in Islamabad and urged it to reconsider its approach.

“I clearly tell the PTI leadership not to push itself into a dead end,” Naqvi said, adding that such political tactics would not achieve anything.

The interior minister said the government would “leave no loopholes” and would deal with any protest in accordance with the law. He also claimed that several members of the PTI leadership did not want to pursue politics based on sit-ins.

Mohsin Naqvi said that if the PTI proceeded with a sit-in in Islamabad, the government would implement the Islamabad High Court’s orders.

“This time, it will not be possible for them to come to Islamabad and shut down the country for 10 days,” he said, urging the PTI to avoid what such political approach that could harm the party and its supporters.

“We have already made it clear that we will proceed according to the law,” Naqvi said, adding that the government would formulate a “permanent course of action” and would not leave the matter unresolved.

On the PTI founder’s medical examination, Naqvi said the party had demanded that he be examined at a hospital. He said the PTI founder had been present at the hospital the previous night and had also undergone a medical check-up.

“We will proceed according to the law, not according to the wishes of PTI members,” the minister said.

Naqvi further said that those within the PTI who were “sensible” did not want such a situation to develop, reiterating that the government intended to find a permanent solution rather than deal with repeated protests.