Pakistan's federal government has authorised the deployment of three companies of the army in Rawalpindi (a garrison city bordering the capital, Islamabad) for six months to carry out "sensitive security duties," according to an interior ministry order dated 21 August. The approval, granted under Article 245 of the constitution — which allows armed forces to assist civilian authorities in maintaining law and order — follows a request from the Punjab provincial government. The move comes over a month before the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has planned a long march on Islamabad, which it claims could attract around two million participants.