LAHORE: The district administration has rejected the application of Lahore Left Front for a rally of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) at the historic Mochi Gate here on Sunday citing security concerns.

The Leftist parties said they were told of the decision late on Friday.

The PTM plan to hold a public gathering in Lahore, titled Jalsa Raddul Fasad, had been announced in a Peshawar meeting of the movement on April 8.

Ali Wazir, one of the main PTM leaders, had appealed to Lahorites to join the gathering to learn about the ordeal they were going through in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata. He said the gathering was aimed at uniting the exploited and oppressed masses of KP and Punjab in general and highlighting woes of ordinary Pashtun labourers in Lahore in particular.

The Lahore Left Front had announced its support for the PTM meeting. A PTM leader said they had moved a new application for permission for the gathering that would be decided on Saturday (today).

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2018