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It said the jailed leader’s third wife, Bushra Bibi, and a key aide, Ali Amin Gandapur, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, were leading a march that arrived just outside Islamabad on Sunday night.
The government has used shipping containers to block major roads and streets in Islamabad, with patrols of police and paramilitary personnel in riot gear.
Officials and witnesses said all public transport between cities and terminals had also been shut down in the eastern province to keep away the protesters,
Provincial Information Minister Uzma Bukhari said about 80 of Khan’s supporters had been arrested.
Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told local Geo News TV that the government sought talks with leaders of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to calm down the situation. “It was a sincere attempt I must say but it didn’t yield any results,” he said.
