LAHORE: The PTI has cancelled its plans to hold protest rallies across the country today (Friday), primarily to focus its energies on its upcoming power show in Lahore on Sept 22.

On Tuesday, the party had called for countrywide protests against the detention of party lawmakers from Parliament House.

Party leaders said the plans were dropped on the instructions of PTI founder Imran Khan as the party wanted to mobilise its leaders, workers and supporters from across the country, including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Punjab PTI’s acting president Hammad Azhar tweeted on Thursday that the Friday protest was being “postponed” on the instructions of Imran Khan. He asked workers to prepare and focus on the Lahore public meeting.

The PTI’s central leadership and its X handle, however, remained silent on the cancellation of the Friday protest.

Speaking to Dawn, PTI spokesman in Punjab Shaukat Basra said the Lahore jalsa would be a national-level public meeting and the party had invited its leaders and workers from all provinces as well as GB and AJK.

The party, he said, had been instructed to save its energies, mobilise workers and supporters to reach Lahore and participate in the scheduled public meeting.

“Since every peaceful PTI activity has resulted in party leaders and workers’ arrests and registration of FIRs, the party has decided to save its strength and attend the Lahore jalsa with full force and enthusiasm,” Mr Basra said.

Answering a question, the spokesman said the party had applied for NOC for the Sept 22 show but the Lahore deputy commissioner had not responded to the request. He said the party had now approached the Lahore High Court, hoping it would ask the DC to permit the meeting.

“The PTI is determined to hold its meeting in Lahore on Sept 22 come what may,” Mr Basra asserted and added the public meeting would be held even if the DC did not issue an NOC. He said the party’s every leader and worker had shunned fear and was ready to take the government by the horns.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2024