LAHORE: The district administration of Lahore on Friday granted permission to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to hold its much-hyped power show in the provincial capital’s Ring Road, Kahna, tomorrow (Saturday) in line with the high court’s directives.
In a no objection certificate (NOC), the deputy commissioner has set 43 conditions for tomorrow’s public gathering, including fixing a time limit for the rally from 3pm to 6pm.
Moreover, the conditions also included that KP CM Gandapur “should tender apology publically for his vitriol during Islamabad Jalsa on September 8, whereas, all those under trial for hate speech in the previous public gathering shall not be allowed to participate/appear on stage”.
It added that no anti-state/anti institution sloganeering and statement be amde during the rally and restricted the PTI that “no Afghan flag to be hoisted and no Afghan paid manpower to be brought to Jalsa”.
“No proclaimed offender will participate/appear in Jalsa. If so facilitating their arrest will be responsibility of Administration of Jalsa, failing which Admin will be tried for abetment,” another condition read.
Incarcerated PTI founder and former prime minister Khan has termed the holding of rally a “do-or-die” situation and expressed optimism about the success of his party’s power show in Lahore.
Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar along with lawyers met the Lahore deputy commissioner to get permission for the rally.
The PTI leader and the district administration are bickering over the timing of the rally with the former insisting on extending the time limit to 11pm.
Negotiations are underway to finalise the rally’s time, as per sources.
Bhachar told journalists outside DC office that the final draft of the SOPs has not been issued yet and they would reach out to the authorities after its release.
The authorities denied permission to the Imran-founded party to hold the public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan earlier today and deliberated on finalising a different venue.
Meanwhile, the party has expedited preparations and prepared a container for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. The KP chief minister will use the container for travelling to Lahore rally’s venue from Swabi, sources closer to PTI told Geo News.
Moreover, CM Gandapur will also address PTI workers in the central convoy in Swabi before departing to Lahore, they added.
Citing the installation of containers and heavy police deployments on the KP-Punjab border, a KP CM’s spokesperson announced that heavy machinery — including 50 cranes, shovels and other equipment — have been transported to the Peshawar Motorway which would be used to remove barriers on the way towards the Lahore rally’s venue.
The developments came after the Lahore High Court (LHC) earlier in the day directed the PTI to submit a request to the city’s deputy commissioner (DC) for holding the rally in the provincial capital while ordering the latter to decide on it by 5pm today.
Justice Muhammad Tariq Nadeem and Justice Farooq Haider heard the plea filed by PTI leaders Aliya Hamza and Sheikh Imtiaz Mehmood.
On the other hand, the government devised a plan to arrest “3,700 suspects who are wanted and proclaimed offenders” in May 9 mayhem cases when they attend the Lahore rally, Punjab government sources revealed.
“Lahore police compiled data of the wanted persons via Safe City cameras and formed special teams who would be identified and arrested through the use of artificial intelligence and other modern technology,” they said.
The Imran Khan-founded party has been trying to hold rallies across the country for months but had been repeatedly denied permission by authorities citing security issues and other reasons.
Although they managed to hold a public gathering on September 8 in Sangjani, Islamabad.
The power show was soon followed by a crackdown against party leaders — some of who were even allegedly “picked” from within the parliament’s premises — for allegedly breaching the no objection certificate (NOC) issued by the administration as well as the “Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Bill, 2024” — a law which came into effect just a day ahead of the rally. –Agencies
