LAHORE: The Punjab government has been using the imposition of Section 144 primarily to prevent the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf from holding any political assembly, rallies, sit-ins, and protests since the fateful day of May 9 last year.

As the PTI supporters in Punjab are preparing to gather and move to Islamabad to participate in the party’s public meeting on Thursday (today), the Punjab government has yet again expressed apprehension that any political gathering could serve as a soft target for terrorists and miscreants in view of the prevailing law and order and security threats.

Given the PTI’s movement, the Punjab home department has imposed Section 144(6) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, and prohibited all kinds of political assemblies, gatherings, sits-in, rallies, demonstrations, jalsas and protests across the province from Aug 22 to Aug 24.

The Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly, Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, had warned the Punjab government and the police chief that if it tried to keep blocking the country’s ‘largest party’ from holding rallies and meetings, some ‘event’ may happen.

Govt bans public gatherings under Section 144 from Aug 22 to 24

Mr Bhachar had stated at a news conference that the PML-N government was propagating that allowing the PTI to protest might lead to ‘another May 9’. About 50,000 people went to Swabi for a PTI public meeting and not a single flower pot was broken in all Punjab districts, the opposition leader said, while alleging that “any uncalled-for event would be a mischievous act by the incumbent government”.

As the PTI had already announced that the party parliamentarians, leaders, and workers would go to Islamabad on Aug 22 to participate in the party’s public meeting, the Punjab police again sprang into action and launched a crackdown against party leaders on Tuesday and Wednesday.

A PTI MPA, Farrukh Javed Moon, shared a video message explaining that the police had been deployed outside his home and that he had been placed under “house arrest”.

He stated that a DSP and the SHO concerned had come to his residence and told him that he could not move out of his home until 4pm on Aug 22. “I am an elected representative of the people, but I’m being stopped from attending to my business,” he said.

Similarly, PTI claimed police raided the residences of different leaders and workers, detaining several of them. Among others, police detained former PTI Lahore president Asghar Gujjar from Manawan area and Abdul Karim Khan and Wajid Shah from Shahdara. Police also raided the residences of party leader Yasir Gillani and former Lahore general secretary Hafiz Zeeshan.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2024