The PTI chief Imran Khan on Sunday postponed the party’s election rally after the Punjab caretaker government imposed Section 144. On Saturday night, the PTI chief, had announced a fresh rally in Lahore on Sunday – days after the interim setup cracked down on the party’s March 8 election rally. Soon after the announcement, the district administration banned public gatherings through the invocation of Section 144 in the Punjab capital, citing concerns in the wake of a Pakistan Super League (PSL) match in the city. Subsequently, the PTI approached Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) offices and the courts against the interim government’s move, saying that the imposition of Section 144 should be declared null and void. However, the PTI chief then postponed the rally altogether, calling on his workers to “not fall into this trap”. “It seems again that Section 144 has been imposed illegally solely on the PTI election campaign as all other public activities are ongoing in Lahore,” he said on Twitter. The former premier claimed that only Zaman Park had been surrounded by containers and a heavy police contingent. “Clearly, like March 8, Punjab CM and police want to provoke clashes to file more sham FIRs against the PTI leadership and workers and use it as a pretext for postponing elections. “Election schedule has been announced so how can Section 144 be imposed on political activity? I AM TELLING ALL PTI WORKERS NOT TO FALL INTO THIS TRAP. Hence we have postponed the rally till tomorrow (Monday),” he added.
In another tweet, he said that the people of Lahore were “already out in huge numbers” despite the fact that his Zaman Park residence was “sealed”.
“However, I cannot allow any injuries to my workers, the general public or my police just so these fascists can register more FIRs against us and find a pretext to run away from elections,” he said as he shared a video of the people gathered outside Zaman Park.
PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi told the media that the party was postponing its rally till today and “giving the government another chance”.
At the same time, he urged workers to remain peaceful. “Imran will lead the rally tomorrow from Zaman Park to Data Darbar. Will make a third attempt to carry out a peaceful rally,” he said. PTI’s Hammad Azhar, meanwhile, said that the party didn’t want “more bodies to fall”. He alleged that the “murder” of PTI worker Bilal was covered up, but said that the party wanted a “peaceful struggle”. “We are postponing the rally,” he said while speaking to the media, calling on workers to be prepared.