Ex-PM Khan’s party to hold Lahore rally today, complains of crackdown on supporters

Activists and supporters of opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) gather in Lahore on October 28, 2022. (AFP/File)

• PTI says law enforcement agencies have arrested 49 of its leaders and supporters from across the city
• Party wanted to hold rally at Minar-e-Pakistan monument but designated venue on Lahore’s outskirts

ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party vowed on Friday to hold a rally in Lahore despite a police crackdown and arrests of its workers and leaders, as the local administration allowed them to hold the public gathering on the outskirts of the city.
The PTI aims to mount pressure on the authorities by holding rallies to get the ex-premier released from prison. Khan has been in jail since August last year on multiple charges including corruption, sedition and terrorism.
Earlier this month, the PTI held a rally on the peripheries of Islamabad after which the local administration registered criminal cases against its leadership for violating their agreement with it. About 10 party lawmakers were arrested from the Parliament House in Islamabad on charges of intimidating the police at the venue of the rally.
Initially, Khan’s party planned to organize the Lahore rally at the historic Minar-e-Pakistan monument, but the district administration gave them a different venue.
“We have got the permission [to hold the rally] in Kahna, Lahore,” Ayesha Ali Bhutta, PTI secretary-information Lahore, told Arab News over the phone. “We are okay with this venue as our primary focus is to hold the rally in Lahore irrespective of the location.”
Prior to getting the permission, she maintained that her party would hold the public gathering under all circumstances.
“We will be holding the rally in Lahore tomorrow, come what may,” she said. “The security agencies have arrested our 49 leaders and workers so far in Lahore in a crackdown, but we are committed to mobilizing the public for a stunning show.”
Speaking to Arab News about the rally, Director of Public Relations of the Punjab Police Syed Mubashar Hussain said his department would perform its usual duties.
“The political party’s leadership is responsible for the security of the rally, and the police will be maintaining law and order in the city as per routine,” he said.
He sidestepped questions about the police crackdown and arrests of PTI workers ahead of the rally.
The PTI secretary-information said the Lahore administration had blocked numerous roads in the city with shipping containers to prevent the movement of the PTI workers to prevent them from visiting the venue.
“We have clear instructions from Imran Khan to hold this rally, and we are ready to organize it on the venue given by the local administration,” she continued.
“The purpose of this rally is to highlight the atrocities of the fascist government against our party workers and leaders, and demand the release of Imran Khan who has been held illegally in jail for over a year now,” she added.
The Lahore High Court had directed the city’s deputy commissioner to decide by 5pm on the PTI’s application for a permission to hold the rally in the city, prompting the district administration to share its decision with the PTI in the evening.
Earlier, the party’s local leadership had reached the Minar-e-Pakistan to make arrangements for the rally, but the local administration denied them the entry.
“Our caravans from Wazirabad and other far-flung areas have already left for Lahore to participate in the rally,” Bhutta said, adding that hundreds of the PTI workers had reached the city to participate in the gathering.
“Some of our caravans will reach Lahore tonight while the remaining will converge on the venue by tomorrow afternoon,” she continued, urging the provincial government to remove all the blockades in the city and release the arrested party workers and leaders ahead of the rally.