Punjab govt imposes Section 144 ahead of PTI election rally in Lahore

The government of Punjab has imposed Section 144 and summoned the Rangers to tackle any possible untoward incident in Lahore. This move comes in light of the election rally announced by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan.

Caretaker Information Minister, Aamir Mir, stated that the PTI chief has once again announced a rally on a day with multiple important events such as a PSL match, a 40-km marathon, and a cycle race in Lahore.

Despite the circumstances, the rally is still scheduled to take place. In order to maintain peace and avoid any potential disturbances, the Punjab government has decided to impose Section 144, he added.

Aamir Mir also confirmed that the administration had a conversation with the PTI and requested to change the date of the rally. However, there has been no response from the party thus far.

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Sources have confirmed that Rangers have been summoned by the Punjab government to deal with any untoward incident. As a result of Section 144 being imposed, the Rangers will be deployed at Zaman Park and other sensitive locations.

PTI seeks ECP to take notice of Section 144

Meanwhile, PTI senior leader Yasmeen Rashid wrote a letter to Chief Election Commission of Pakistan (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, requesting him to take notice against the Punjab government for imposing Section 144 to stop the PTI rally.

Rashid pointed out that the government had imposed Section 144 under the guise of the PSL match, even though the PTI rally was scheduled to take place at 2 pm, while the match was scheduled for the evening at 7 pm.

Furthermore, the police reportedly attacked a PTI worker during the rally, resulting in his death. Rashid urged the commission to take action against the government and declared the imposition of Section 144 null and void.

The party would also be approaching various courts against the imposition of Section 144 in Lahore, she added.

A day ago, Imran Khan announced that he will lead an election rally in Lahore tomorrow, and also urged the chief justice to form a judicial commission to probe into the killing of party activist Ali Bilal, alias Zille Shah.

He said Lahorites are lively people, and asked everyone to support him tomorrow. He further demanded the election commission seek resignation from the caretaker chief minister, police chief and the capital city police officer.

However, the Lahore deputy commissioner refused permission to the PTI rally on the pretext of the PSL matches.