The Lahore administration on Friday permitted the PTI to hold its rally in the provincial capital tomorrow from 3-6pm at Ring Road’s Kahna area, subject to compliance with 43 conditions.
The no-objection certificate was issued by the office of the Lahore deputy commissioner (DC) to PTI Lahore President Imtiaz Mahmood and Aliya Hamza Malik after the high court ordered the city administration to decide by 5pm upon the PTI’s petitions for the rally’s permission.
A three-member bench took up the petitions a day ago and sought the personal appearance of top civil brass, including the Punjab chief secretary, the police chief, the commissioner, the DC, and the advocate general. The NOC said it was being issued after undertakings by the organisers that they would take full responsibility in case of any untoward incident.
Among the 43 conditions, the third one said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur should tender a public apology for his “vitriol” during the party’s Islamabad rally on September 8.
They said that groups of supporters from outside the city would not come and “disturb daily routine life” and no anti-state sloganeering would be allowed. The conditions also said that those PTI members under trial for hate speech in the Islamabad rally would not be allowed to appear and participate on the stage while no proclaimed offender would be allowed to take part in the rally.
They added that the arrest of any proclaimed offenders would be the responsibility of the rally organisers, failing which they would be tried for abetting the wanted people. The conditions further said that no audio or video message of a proclaimed offender or any convict would be aired or shown.
“In view of overall security situation and threat alerts received from different quarters, the organisers are once again cautioned and strongly advised to undertake all requisite precautionary measures in and around the venue for safety of participants and general public since this public gathering are being convened at their call,” the NOC stated. The PTI has already launched its mass contact campaign to muster support for the much-hyped Lahore power show, formerly planned to be held at the Minar-i-Pakistan ground.
Each time the party sought permission to hold its power show in recent months, the Punjab Home Department imposed Section 144 to ban political gatherings. The department did so on Aug 21 and ensured PTI leaders and workers did not reach Islamabad to attend the Aug 22 power show, which was postponed at the eleventh hour. Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari raised the question of why “people who want to spew hatred and swear on the stage” be permitted to organise a rally.
“You will never hear any political talk from their stage,” she said while speaking to Geo News earlier today.
Later, she condemned PTI supporters for allegedly blocking roads and committing arson in Lahore ahead of the rally. “Now if action is taken against them, they will start crying,” she said on X. Earlier, Imran Khan, during an informal conversation with journalists at Adiala Jail, warned that if the government denied permission for the Lahore rally, “we will turn the rally into a protest.” He added that if the rally was blocked, “the entire nation will protest at Minar-e-Pakistan.” Khan asserted that the rally is intended to “protect democracy and freedom,” a right endorsed by the Supreme Court but repeatedly obstructed by the government. He criticised the government’s approach to rallies, questioning why obstacles were set up at previous gatherings, despite assurances. “If the Deputy Commissioner of Lahore does not permit the rally, we will protest at Minar Pakistan,” he reiterated. Khan concluded by criticising the government’s selective approval process, stating, “Their requests are being heard, while ours are being rejected.”
Moreover, over 100 party workers have been arrested by the Punjab Police. As per details, the arrested workers have been taken into preventive detention, with orders issued for their detention under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Act.
