FAISALABAD, Aug 31: All the district police officers of the province have been directed to take every possible step for stopping the PPP from holding protests against rejection of party chairperson Benazir Bhutto’s nomination papers.

Sources told this scribe here on Saturday that the Punjab home department, immediately after the announcement of protest plan by the PPP from September 1, directed the police and other agencies to jointly devise strategy to fail the PPP drive.

The PPP district presidents had been instructed by the Punjab party chief to hold protest rallies on Sept 1 in their cities.

The protest campaign would be the first of its kind against the military regime announced by the PPP as previously the party had taken part in rallies from the platform of Alliance for Restoration of Democracy and not for any individual movement.

On Friday night, the local police deputed commandos at the Clock Tower intersection, outside eight bazaars of the city and at Narwala Chowk after receiving a news that party activists were going to stage a protest demonstration. But the law enforcers returned disappointed as the PPP leaders reportedly postponed the strike till (Sept 1).