Police in the Pakistani capital Islamabad used tear gas after when it came to a clash with protesters in support of the convicted former Prime Minister Imran Khan, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA.
The demonstration was organized as an anti-government protest against the ban on gatherings in the city.
Police cordoned off Islamabad and cellphones were silenced to prevent crowds as authorities prepare for a series of high-level diplomatic events over the next two weeks, including a visit by India's foreign minister.
The entrance arteries to the Pakistani capital were blocked with shipping containers and were guarded by a large number of police and military. Schools in Islamabad are closed, as is the nearby garrison town of Rawalpindi, where mobile networks are also down.
Dozens of Khan's supporters still managed to overcome the blockades.
Several people, including the former prime minister's sisters, were detained by law enforcement authorities, according to Khan's party - the Justice Movement. (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, PTI) and local media.
"Free Imran! Free Imran”, the crowd chanted as they held his pictures and waved PTI flags less than a kilometer from the city's red zone, which houses the parliament buildings and fortified residences of foreign embassies.
It was another in a series of protests aimed at Khan's release and agitation against the ruling coalition, which the PTI calls “illegitimate” and claims that it was formed after the election was rigged.
"It is their right to gather, but now is not the right time for that,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters, referring to the diplomatic events in the capital.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was in Islamabad yesterday and today as the city prepares to also host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting on October 15 and 16.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will also participate in this forum. He will be India's first top diplomat to visit Pakistan in more than a decade, while relations between the two rival neighbors remain chilly, according to Reuters.
Naqvi said a Saudi delegation and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will also arrive in Islamabad ahead of the meeting.
The government of Pakistan has ordered the army from tomorrow to provide security in the capital before the upcoming events, reported "Jio News”. Naqvi urged Khan's supporters to postpone their protests until the days after the SCO meeting.
For his part, Khan appealed to his supporters to gather in front of parliament regardless of the obstacles.
"This war has entered a decisive phase”, he wrote on the “X“ social network.
Although the former prime minister has been in prison since August last year, candidates backed by him won the most seats in parliament in February's elections. However, they proved to be insufficient to form a government.
Instead, his opponents, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, formed a coalition cabinet.