The Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Lahore has turned down Pakistan Awami Tehreek's (PAT) request to stage a sit-in on Istanbul Chowk on The Mall on August 16, DawnNews reported on Tuesday.

Due to the imposition of Section-144 in the area — that forbids more than four people to gather in one place — and August 16 being a working day, a sit-in on a main road of the city will cause difficulties to the public, said the spokesperson for Lahore DC.

The local administration has asked PAT to stage their sit-in at Nasir Bagh instead. However, PAT has not yet replied to the local administration's request.

The Lahore High Court (LHC), while hearing a petition filed by a trader's association leader, has also stopped PAT from making any arrangements for the dharna until Wednesday.

The petition filed by trader's association leader Naeem Mir had argued that the procession should not be allowed since Article 144 has already been imposed on The Mall Road and that the public life will adversely be impacted by the proposed sit-in.

PAT chief chief Tahirul Qadri had announced on Friday that women belonging to families of the victims of the 2014 Model Town tragedy would stage a sit-in on The Mall from Aug 16 to “request” the Lahore High Court to make the Najfi commission report on the incident public.