Gatherings banned in Pakistan’s Punjab until September 17 amid planned protest by PTI
The Punjab government has imposed a ban on all kinds of gatherings across the province until September 17, ahead of a planned protest by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party in the federal capital.
Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sohail Afridi, had announced a tour of 13 cities of Punjab from Monday to garner support for the protest march toward Islamabad on September 27.
The Punjab home department on Sunday banned gatherings of five or more people across the province until September 17 under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
It also banned the display of weapons in public and any other activity deemed to incite unlawful assembly. However, gatherings for weddings, funerals, religion, court and government business are exempted.
The authorities in Islamabad and neighbouring Rawalpindi were taking measures to foil the protest by Khan’s PTI.
Shipping containers have been placed along main roads and highways to barricade them ahead of the protest. Dawn reported that the federal government has also asked Punjab to supply 15,000 police personnel for Islamabad’s security, with Sindh contributing 8,000 and Balochistan 500, with a combined deployment of 23,500 officers due to be in place by September 20. In Rawalpindi, the city’s police chief, Hassan Mushtaq Sukhera, has cancelled leave for all officers until October, barring genuine emergencies, according to Dawn.
Also, district authorities have issued preventive detention orders against dozens of workers of the party under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order, including 31 in one Punjab notification and a further 14 in Toba Tek Singh.
At the same time, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, during an interaction with journalists in Lahore, alleged the opposition party was planning to bring “armed supporters” into Islamabad.
Also, the PM’s aide warned that terrorists might exploit the rally to widen the rift between the public and the state.
He predicted the protest would ultimately fail.
Punjab information secretary, Shaukat Basra, described a coordinated campaign against its leadership and rank and file, claiming hundreds of workers, including women, had been detained in raids across the province.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Afridi hinted at altering his planned Punjab tour following the demise of a worker from Khan’s PTI. The tour was set to start from Mianwali.
He announced a visit to the residence of Ishtiaq Ahmad in Lahore, who died after remaining under treatment for burn injuries that he allegedly suffered during a raid by police, according to the party.
