Islamabad police arrested a man for allegedly equating the Tarnol railway crossing with the Strait of Hormuz, it emerged on Friday.
Washington has imposed a blockade on Iran’s maritime trade, while Iran has prevented ships from sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway at the entrance to the Middle East Gulf. Nearly two months after the United States and Israel began their war against Iran on February 28, there is little sign of peace talks resuming during an uneasy ceasefire.
The closure of the strait has disrupted a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies and sparked a global energy crisis.
A first information report registered at Tarnol police station by sub-inspector Shahid Asghar on Tuesday under sections 188 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant), section 341 (punishment for undue restraint) and section 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offense punishable with imprisonment for life or shorter term) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) said that the suspect posted content suggesting that the Tarnol lockdown Phatak, similar to the Strait of Hormuz, could help solve existing problems.
The FIR said that in the context of the current national situation, such comments amounted to a violation of Section 144, which was imposed in Islamabad to maintain public order and prevent actions that may incite riots.
Read: Islamabad maintains security blockade amid uncertainty over US-Iran talks
Acting on a tip-off from a special informant, the Tarnol police arrested the suspect at Tarnol Chowk, the FIR added, saying that a subsequent examination of his mobile phone corroborated the information received.
The FIR further said that the suspect violated the orders of authorized authorities and incited the public to block Tarnol Phatak. He said the suspect was detained and legal proceedings had been initiated in accordance with the law.
He added that strict action was being taken against people spreading content on social media that could disturb peace or encourage illegal activities.
For almost a week, the federal capital has been waiting for peace talks between the United States and Iran to take place there and much of the city ‌remains sealed off by authorities.
The main roads leading to Islamabad are closed and a strict security cordon surrounds the administrative center, the so-called “Red Zone”. In the adjacent “Blue Zone”, cafes have run out of fruit, markets are deserted and without service at bus terminals, weekend travelers have difficulty getting home.
The current lockdown is the second in two weeks. Islamabad was first closed for talks between US and Iranian delegations on April 11, which ended without a deal. The city briefly reopened and then closed again as Pakistan hopes to host a second round that has yet to materialize.
