LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) preparations for the Minar-e-Pakistan rally tonight are underway amid police crackdown on the PTI workers across the province.
The Imran-led party had announced days back to hold a ‘massive’ public rally at the Iqbal Park here as they have been pressing the government to hold general elections for the two provincial assemblies of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
“Tonight will be our 6th jalsa at Minar i Pakistan & my heart tells me it will break all records. I am inviting everyone in Lahore to attend after Tarawih prayers. I will give my vision of Haqeeqi Azadi & how we will pull Pak out of the mess cabal of crooks have put our country in,” said the PTI chief as he took to Twitter early Saturday.
Tonight will be our 6th jalsa at Minar i Pakistan & my heart tells me it will break all records.I am inviting everyone in Lahore to attend after Tarawih prayers.I will give my vision of Haqeeqi Azadi & how we will pull Pak out of the mess cabal of crooks have put our country in.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 25, 2023
According to the PTI leaders, they will hold a “historic” rally in Lahore today, which will be attended by party chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan. Despite the ongoing legal issues, the PTI leadership remains undeterred and is keen to showcase its strength in Lahore.
The PTI had previously suspended its ‘Jail Bharo’ movement earlier this month following the Supreme Court’s ruling in a suo-moto notice over delay in the announcement of elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. However, several PTI leaders and workers were still under arrest as the government launched a renewed large-scale crackdown on the PTI activists in wake of the rally.
The caretaker government has responded poorly to the PTI’s planned rally in Lahore today by placing shipping containers on all the main roads leading to the rally venue. The district administration had allowed the party to hold a public rally at the Minar-e-Pakistan tonight, however, containers were placed on major routes leading to the venue including the entrance and exit routes of Lahore.
Every single road leading to Minar e Pakistan has been blocked by Lahore Police!
Containers placed at every entry exit point of Lahore.
Lahore is jammed already and its pretty much a working day✋
They couldnt even wait up till Iftar time even! pic.twitter.com/fvTwn3M71J— M. Akbar Bajwa (@akbarbajwa) March 25, 2023
On the other hand, the PTI leadership is clearly determined to show that it still has the support of the people, and that Imran Khan remains a potent force in the country’s political landscape. In what appears to be an attempt to block routes leading to the PTI’s power show venue, the local administration placed shipping containers at various locations in the city ahead of the PTI’s rally at the Minar-e-Pakistan. The road heading from Data Darbar towards Minar-e-Pakistan has been closed off from both sides. The routes leading to Minar-e-Pakistan from Ravi Bridge and Railway Station have been closed, while containers have also been placed at the Shah Alam Market.
There are also reports that students who were supposed to appear for the Institute of Chartered Accountant exams could not do so because of road blockades. Containers have also been placed in other areas of Lahore, including Cup Store, GT Road and Du Maurya Bridge. The city administration and police have taken the step to block PTI supporters from other towns and cities in Punjab from reaching the rally venue.
“Come to Minar-i-Pakistan”
While expressing concerns that the government may erect hurdles to prevent the PTI supporters from reaching the rally venue, Imran Khan asserted that it was the fundamental right of the people to participate in a political gathering. “Everyone must assert their right as people of a free nation that won its independence and come to Minar-i-Pakistan,” he told his supporters.
They will put all sorts of hurdles to prevent people from attending, but I want to remind our ppl that it is their fundamental right to attend a political gathering. Everyone must assert their right as people of a free nation that won its independence & come to Minar i Pakistan.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 25, 2023
Police continue crackdown on PTI supporters
Meanwhile, the Punjab police continued its crackdowns on PTI workers and arrested several activists and leaders. The Punjab police conducted a raid at PTI senior leader and also a candidate from PP-158, Mehtab Hussain’s residence in Lahore though he was not present at home. In Multan, the police arrested son of former MPA Javed Akhtar Ansari in a raid and also arrested other PTI workers across the district. The residence of Arslan Butt – a former staff officer of the PTI leader Shahbaz Gill was also raided by the police in Burewala, but he was not available at his home. Moreover, police teams also arrested several PTI workers during raids in other cities including Lodhran, Mian Channu, Vehari and Faisalabad.
The party leadership has alleged that Punjab police have detained the PTI leaders and workers, saying that raids on their houses have been ongoing for five days running. However, they said that despite these “tactics of the police and administration”, the Minar-e-Pakistan rally will definitely take place today.
https://twitter.com/TayyabKhanPFUJ/status/1639525023252635648
According to the police sources, night raids were conducted to arrest key PTI leaders including Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Aamir Kayani, Raja Basharat, Raja Usman, Mian Imran Hayat, and others in Rawalpindi but they were not availabel at homes. The sources added that the key PTI leaders have gone into hiding to avoid arrests.
A day earlier, the party PTI formed had a venue committee in connection with the rally at Minar-e-Pakistan today amid the police raids. In a statement, senior PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry condemned the “arrest and abduction” of “about 750 leaders and workers, including Shahid Hussain and Azhar Mashwani”.
The Punjab police continued raids in different areas of the province to arrest the party leaders and workers ahead of the Lahore rally. The Police raided the residence of PTI leaders Bajash Khan Niazi and Hammad Khan Niazi in the Manawan area but could not arrest them as they were not present at the home. Similarly, the police conducted a raid at the residence of Malik Mubasher Lal, PTI’s PP-145 candidate, in the Samnabad area but failed to arrest him. “Imran Khan is the future of this country. We will support him till the last drop of our blood,” Lal vowed.
On the other hand, the police have arrested over 50 PTI workers from different areas of Rahim Yar Khan, while 26 workers including PTI leader Javed Akhtar Ansari’s son were arrested in Multan. The PTI claimed that many workers have also been detained from Lodhran and Bhakkar.
آج کا جلسہ پاکستان کے مستقبل کی سمت کا تعین کرے گا، ان شاء اللہ قوم ثابت کرے گی کہ وہ این آر او زدہ چوروں کے ٹولے کو کبھی قبول نہیں کرے گی۔
#حقیقی_آزادی_جلسہ pic.twitter.com/UOSsEaDE7V— PTI (@PTIofficial) March 25, 2023
