• Sound system turned off, lights go out, party leaders forced off stage
• Gohar vows no compromises on democracy, judiciary; Gandapur reaches venue late
• Govt spokespersons term rally ‘flop show’, claim no hurdles placed on roads

LAHORE: A public gathering organised by the PTI in Kahna came to an abrupt end on Saturday after the district administration and police officials forced the party leaders and supporters to leave the venue by turning off lights and the sound system before embarking on the stage to remove the speakers.

The police swung into action after the PTI rally jumped the 6pm deadline mentioned in the no-objection certificate, even though the deputy commissioner had reportedly assured the org­anisers that the administration would not be ‘stringent’ about the timings of the gathering. But within minutes, the police cleared the venue by force.

Before the police action, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan made a brief speech in which he urged the government to “open ways (for conciliation) instead of blocking roads, don’t sacrifice the country at the altar of petty ego, and do not pitch public against public and institutions against institutions”.

The PTI chairman said the nation had decided that it would not compromise on anything less than ‘true democracy’ and an independent judiciary. He said party founder Imran Khan was the last hope to save Pakistan. Shortly after the speech, the lights went out. This prompted the PTI supporters, mostly Lahoris, to turn on the flashlights of their mobile phones as darkness had engulfed the arena. But as leaders began to leave, so did the supporters.

By the time of the expulsion, most PTI leaders had addressed the gathering in quick succession. Conspicuous by their absence were PTI leaders Omar Ayub, Asad Qaiser, and KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.

CM Gandapur, who had made controversial remarks at the Islamabad gathering, managed to reach the venue after most of the people had left.

He was late because the entry points, including Shahdara and Babu Sabu, of the provincial capital had been blocked by the administration.

Mr Gandapur spoke briefly to the people present there and said that he had reached the venue after breaking all hurdles placed by the government.

“I promise that I will get party founder Imran Khan released,” the CM said.

According to a video aired by TV channels, CM Gandapur could be seen smashing windows of a truck — apparently parked by the administration to block the route — near Kala Shah Kaku with his assault rifle.

In his video message after the brief address, the CM said he neither recognised the “Form-47 government” nor parliament’s constitutional amendments. Urging the judiciary to take a stand, he said: “We will not let constitutional amendment happen and continue standing with the judiciary.”

Thanking the people of Lahore for their welcome and the people from KP for fighting against ‘fascism’, Mr Gandapur said he would give his narrative on Sunday (today).

Since the NOC also carried a condition that all those facing cases for hate speech at the previous Islamabad rally should not be allowed to participate or appear on stage, the Organised Crime Unit team also reached the venue, when PTI Punjab acting president Hammad Azhar appeared on the stage. The OCU, however, could not nab Mr Azhar who managed to flee.

Mr Azhar from the stage said the country had been held hostage for the last two years as there was no constitution, law, democracy, or human rights.

PTI MNA Salman Akram Raja said the government wanted to establish a court, where retired judges would supervise sitting judges, with two main objectives — ban the PTI and get Imran Khan convicted from a military court. Several party leaders including advocate Latif Khosa, Umar Dar, Senator Aon Abbas Bappi, ILF Pakistan president Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan, and others also spoke at the rally.

‘Flop show’

On the other hand, the federal and provincial spokespersons termed the PTI rally a ‘flop show’ claiming that the Maryam Nawaz administration had not created any hurdles to stop Imran Khan’s supporters.

An afternoon visit to various points, including the Ring Road leading to the Kahna cattle market, showed that they were blocked by containers and manned by the Punjab police, leaving both the commuters and PTI workers frustrated.

Federal Minister Infor­mation Minister Attaullah Tarar and Punjab Senior Minister Mariyumm Aurangzeb uploaded the pictures of PTI’s rally venue on their X accounts in the afternoon to claim that people had “rejected “the PTI and they were not answering the call of Mr Khan. After the police expelled the PTI supporters from the venue to end the rally, Mr Tarar addressed the nation from Lahore terming it a “flop show”.

“We gave the PTI complete freedom, but it failed to put up a better show. Today all roads were kept open, and security was also provided,” he said.

He said PTI lawmaker Sardar Latif Khosa used inappropriate language about the chief justice as the PTI had been fighting with the institutions.

Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari told a press conference that Imran Khan was seeking an NRO through rallies. She insisted the Punjab government did not place any hurdles in the PTI rally.

She alleged the PTI used KP government employees, machinery and resources for the jalsa and with all this help it could only gather 3,000 people in the rally.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2024