Lahore: The Punjab government announced again Saturday night that it would enforce Section 144 in Lahore. The government decided it ahead of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally.
This is the second time in less than a week that the interim government has put this restriction in place before an election rally of the party, which has harshly criticized the caretaker set-up for being “partial.”
The announcement came just hours after PTI Chairman Imran Khan said he would lead the rally himself. Khan has been organizing his party from his home in Lahore for more than four months.
“I will lead the election rally to show them that we are not animals,” the former prime minister during his address via video link. He was criticizing the caretaker set-up for the alleged “murder” of party worker Ali Bilal.
But Punjab caretaker Information Minister Amir Mir said, just like he did earlier this week, that the former prime minister has again said he will hold a rally on a “important day.”
PSL Match in Lahore
“Lahore will host a Pakistan Super League (PSL) match today (Sunday). In the city, there will also be a 40-kilometer-long marathon and a bike race “The minister of information said this.
Mir also said that the administration told the party about what was going to happen ahead of time. We also informed them in writing to hold the rally on a different day, but they chose not to.
“Due to the situation, the Punjab government has decided that rallies will not be allowed today. Section 144 is in place to stop anything bad from happening, “the minister of information.
Mir said that the election campaign starts “22 days” before the election. This made it sound like the party was getting ready early.
General elections are set for April 30 in Punjab, but the date for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hasn’t been set yet because Governor Ghulam Ali hasn’t decided.
At the PTI rally on Wednesday, there were fights between party members and the Punjab Police. Several injured while one party worker died.
