The federal government on Friday approved the deployment of the Pakistan Army in Islamabad under Article 245 of the Constitution to maintain the law-and-order situation during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.

The SCO summit will be held in Islamabad from October 15 to 16.

“The exact area of deployment along with an additional number of troops, if the requirement arises, will be worked out by the ICT administration in consultation with the stakeholders concerned,” it said.

Army will be deployed from October 5 to 17 to “maintain law and order situation”.

Earlier during the day, the Indian foreign ministry confirmed that Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will visit Pakistan to participate in the summit later this month.

It, however, did not specify if he would meet any Pakistani officials on the sidelines.

A detailed security plan for the event was approved during a meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi on Wednesday.

The interior minister emphasised the importance of hosting the SCO summit and noted that several heads of state would be in attendance, marking a significant honour for the nation.

He said that additional personnel from the Pakistan Army, Rangers, Frontier Corps, and Punjab police would be deployed to ensure comprehensive security for the guests.

The decision comes at a time when PTI supporters marched towards the twin cities for a “peaceful protest”.