LAHORE: The PTI August 5 rally will take place at Minar-e-Pakistan if the Lahore district administration grants permission, party leaders said on Monday.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Salman Akram Raja and other party leaders met the Lahore deputy commissioner. They submitted an application seeking approval for the public gathering.
Speaking after the meeting, Raja said holding a peaceful rally was the party’s constitutional and democratic right.
“We hope the district administration will facilitate a peaceful rally,” he told reporters.
Raja said PTI had followed the legal process and asked the authorities to approve Minar-e-Pakistan or propose another suitable venue in Lahore.
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He questioned why the administration would deny PTI permission to hold public meetings if other political parties could hold them.
The planned rally is part of PTI’s campaign to secure the release of its jailed founder and former prime minister, Imran Khan.
Aleema Khan, Imran Khan’s sister, has described August 5 as a “decisive battle” for his release. She told supporters in Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, that protesters would march towards Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi rather than gather at Islamabad’s D-Chowk.
Aleema also alleged that the federal government was circulating fabricated statements in Imran Khan’s name. She urged supporters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to join the campaign in Punjab for his release.