Pakistan tightens security ahead of SCO summit, national airline's offices to remain closed

Pakistan's national air carrier, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced that its offices will stay closed from October 14 to October 16.

According to an ARY News report, this closure is in line with security measures Islamabad is putting in place ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit.

During this period, airport staff will still perform their duties. In a circular, the airline said that its employees working in shifts at the airport will continue with their duties during the closure.

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Furthermore, access to Islamabad's Red Zone area has been restricted to the general public to ensure safety at the conference. Section 144 has been imposed in various cities, such as Karachi and Rawalpindi.
 
Security measures have led to the country's Supreme Court announcing a three-day closure of its principal office in Islamabad, although provincial registries will remain functional.

Meanwhile, stringent security measures have been put in place at the Adiala jail where Pakistan's former PM Imran Khan is locked up. 

To ensure the law and order situation in the federal capital, Pakistan Army troops have been deployed from October 5 to October 17. 

The SCO Meetings

Pakistan is set to host the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Heads of Government (CHG) meeting on October 15-16, 2024. The SCO Meetings will be held in Pakistan's Rawalpindi and Islamabad. 

Many global senior leaders will attend the two-day summit, among them India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

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Talking to AFP, Imtiaz Gul, a security analyst and executive director of the Center for Research and Security Studies, said that the meeting holds great significance for a country which is "not seen as safe".

"The government claims to have made elaborate security arrangements and understandably so because it has to make sure that the event passes off peacefully without any untoward incident," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)