Before the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) demonstration and rally, the Punjab government imposed section 144 in Lahore.
Before the party’s election rally that sharply criticized the caretaker setup for being “biassed,” the interim government enforced restrictions twice in less than a week.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan, on Saturday, announced that he would lead a rally on Sunday and said, “I will lead the election rally to demonstrate that we are not domesticated animals.” He also criticized the caretaker regime for allegedly being involved in the “murder” of party worker Ali Bilal.
Amir Mir, Punjab’s caretaker minister of communications, asserted that the former prime minister had again announced organizing a demonstration on an “important day” similar to the earlier announcement.
Sharing the details, Mir said today a Pakistan Super League (PSL) match would occur in Lahore (Sunday). In addition, a 40-kilometer marathon and a bicycle competition will also take place in the city.
Mir stated that the party was also told in writing to conduct the event on another day but took a different decision. The party was already notified of the occurrences by the administration.
The Punjab administration has decided to prohibit demonstrations today due to the current situation. The Ministry of Information indicated that Section 144 was enacted to prevent undesired situations.
When he counseled the PTI leader to “relax,” Mir remarked that the election campaign began “22 days” before the poll, implying that the party was preparing in advance.
While the election date for Punjab has been fixed for April 30, Governor Ghulam Ali has not yet announced the poll date for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
During Wednesday’s party event, PTI supporters and Punjab Police officers clashed, resulting in multiple injuries.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi, vice chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), declared that enforcing Section 144 was “unjustified” and that nomination papers for the Punjab elections will be submitted today.
At a press conference in Lahore, the former foreign minister stated that the imposition of Section 144 was inappropriate, considering that the election campaign had just begun.
His party will file an appeal with the Lahore High Court (LHC) and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
He claimed that PTI leader Babar Awan would advise Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja in the morning that the restriction was “unjustified.”
Khan resides in Zaman Park, where Qureshi instructed the party workers to arrive by 2:00 p.m., per Qureshi’s directive. Khan would personally oversee the rally.