PTI power show ends in ‘darkness’  

Police and local administration switched off the lights and the sound system installed at the stage of PTI power show at Kahna in Lahore after the time of rally ended while PTI leadership including PTI chairman Barrister Gohar left the stage, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

After the lights were switched off, PTI workers and leaders started leaving the ground. Deputy Commissioner Lahore Syed Musa Raza on the occasion told the organizers of the rally to act on SOPs as the designated time of the meeting ended at 6 o'clock.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8Z312M0lic

He made it clear to the organizers that action will be taken if terms of NOC were violated. After 6pm, the sound system and the lights were turned off, which turned the ground into darkness.

 Earlier, caravans from around the country were on their way and supporters have started to reach the rally venue as the former ruling party – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf – was all set to demonstrate its power show in Lahore's Kahna area today amid foolproof security measures, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Preparations were in place for the PTI’s rally at Kahna as the sound system has been installed while chairs have been placed as the caravans of the party workers kept pouring in.

Firebrand Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur is also leading a huge caravan to Lahore via Motorway.

On the other hand, police rounded up over 100 PTI leaders and workers from different parts of the city during the last 24 hours ahead of the party’s rally.  

The administration late Friday night decided to put 42 party leaders under house arrest, while a letter was issued in which it was stated that five of these leaders namely Yasir Gilani, Malik Afzal, Fazal Khan, Amir Gilani and Fazal Dad would remain confined to their homes for 30 days.

Punjab Police arrest scores of PTI workers

As the time for the PTI’s rally at Kahna, Lahore is getting closer, the Punjab police, too, have swung into action and launched a province-wide crackdown on the party workers and supporters.

Raids have been reported from different cities of the province, including the provincial capital Lahore.

Police in Arifwala carried out raids late Friday night and took several PTI leaders and workers into custody in order to prevent them from going to Lahore to attend the party’s rally at Kahna to be held later in the afternoon today.

Police raided Insaf Students Federal South Punjab General Secretary Talha Tariq Sheikh Advocate’s home as he was about to leave for Lahore along with a caravan of party workers, took him into custody and put him under house arrest.

Earlier, Sheikh had also issued a statement on social media in which he urged the PTI workers and supporters to attend the rally in large numbers.

10 PTI workers held in Hafizabad

In Hafizabad too, police came down hard on the PTI leaders and workers and took 10 of them into custody.

However, most of the party leaders and workers had already left for Lahore by the time police carried out raids.

Lahore-Islamabad motorway closed, reopened

Meanwhile, the Motorway Police (MP) have closed M2, a section of the motorway connection Lahore to Islamabad, leading to long queues of vehicles at the interchange.

Likewise, a large police contingent, deployed at Old Toll Plaza Chowk near Islamabad, is busy checking vehicles; consequently creating lots of inconvenience for the motorists coming from the Islamabad airport as well as Peshawar. Later, all the motorways were reopened.

Security tightened before PTI’s rally

Security has been beefed up in view of PTI’s power show at Kahna today as large contingents of the police have been deployed in and around the venue for the rally.

Police personnel are busy frisking the bodies of the participants and are also questioning vendors before the event gets underway.

On the other hand, the road leading from the Ring Road to the venue has been closed for traffic by placing containers.

Police have said that cars would not be parked in the area situated between the venue and the Ring Road.

Police have further said that the Bomb Disposal Squad and the Special Branch personnel are monitoring the security situation themselves.

PTI MPA Aqeel Aslam Arain arrested

Police arrested PTI MPA Chaudhary Aqeel Aslam Arain outside of his restaurant in Pattoki on Saturday.

According to details, MPA Chaudhary Aqeel Aslam Arain was heading towards Kahna in Lahore to attend the PTI rally. But Lahore police arrested him from and took him away in a van.

PTI workers attack police van in Gulberg

PTI workers in the Gulberg area of the city went berserk and attacked a police van.

Police, in response, took several party workers into custody.

Gohar appeals to admin to let rally be held peacefully

Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, while expressing his gratitude to the Lahore district administration for issuing NOC for the party’s rally at Kahna today, has appealed to it not to block roads and create other obstacles in the way of the participants of today’s power show.

In his special message for the occasion, he has said that this will not only enable the party workers to reach the venue for the rally without any inconvenience but will also make it easier for the organizers to wrap up the event on time.  

On the other hand, he has asked the PTI workers and supporters to turn up at the venue in large numbers and remain peaceful. “This is a message from former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan,” he has said, adding, “I appeal to the people of Punjab, especially of Lahore, to show up in large numbers.”

Gohar also appealed to PTI workers not to block routes.  

Punjab info minister calls PTI ‘Party of Fasad’

In her reaction to the Gulberg incident, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari said that the PTI was a ‘Party of Fasad (anarchy)’.

She said that the PTI workers had blocked roads and indulged in acts of arson. “Now when the government takes action against them, they will cry,” she said.   

PTI workers in Peshawar do push-ups

Surprisingly, PTI workers in Peshawar did push-ups at the Chief Minister’s House to show their preparedness for the power show.  

The workers also announced to take machinery with them in order to remove obstacles from roads.

On Friday, PTI received permission from the local administration to hold a rally at Kahna with a long list of SOPs.

PTI lawyers confirmed that the administration had given a green signal for the public meeting.

The approval was given following a directive from the Lahore High Court, in which it asked the district administration to take a decision on PTI's request for a rally by 5:00 pm on Friday.

The Deputy Commissioner’s office, while issuing the NOC, said that the rally would take place at Kahna instead of Minar-e-Pakistan.

The PTI has been allowed to hold its gathering between 3pm and 6pm.

Syed Shadab Jafri, chief organiser of PTI rally, told the media that the local government had approved their application for rally at Kahna.

He said this would be a historic event. He urged the administration not to create hurdles in the arrangements. 

According to the SOPs, time of the PTI rally has been set between 3pm to 6pm. Rally organizers will be responsible for ensuring stage’s safety.

Security of ladies and gentlemen enclosures, emergency exits, crowd avoidance/control measures and adequate parking will be ensured with the recruitment of private security and volunteers.

PTI groups from outside the city will not come to Lahore to disrupt the daily life.  Anti-state slogans and statements should not be made during the meeting.

Chief Minister KP Ali Amin Gandapur should publicly apologize for his remarks during Islamabad Jalsa on 8 September 2024. All persons under trial for hate speech of Islamabad rally will not be allowed to sit on the stage.

No absconder will be able to attend the rally and if anyone attends it, then it will be the responsibility of the rally organizers to facilitate their arrest, failing which the admin will face the music.

No Afghan flag will be hoisted and no Afghan paid workforce will be brought to the rally. The rally organizers will nominate a focal person who will coordinate with the concerned Superintendent of Police and SP Traffic Police to ensure traffic and security arrangements at all points. The organizers will work closely with SP Model Town. All relevant security measures will be ensured at the rally. There will be administrative and security requirements for the gathering.

In case of security lapse, organizers will timely report to the police so that lapses are rectified. No audio/video message of POs or any convicted person will be broadcasted or shown. Traffic police will implement a detailed traffic plan and advisory for the event.

SP Security Lahore will convene a meeting with the administrators for necessary arrangements and take an undertaking from them about their responsibilities. Organizers along with district police will install barbed wire and tent sheet on the outer railing/wall of Lahore Ring Road, Kahana.

The use of the deck/sound system shall be regulated under the Punjab Sound Systems (Regulation) Ordinance 2015. Sound system should be used inside the ground during the meeting.

Containers will be placed by the organizers and by the District Police wherever required. As there is no permanent stage at Lahore Ring Road, Kahna, the stage should be set up with containers in collaboration with District Police.

Iron pipes will be placed around the stage. The organizer shall take responsibility that no unauthorized persons shall enter the VIP area or through the VIP gate or the stage or come near the stage.

Objectionable/offensive slogans will be prohibited. No one shall be compelled to attend a meeting within the city. For the safety of the general public, maintenance of law and order and normal situation at the venue, the District Police will check/search any vehicle/person attending the Jalsa. No obstacles will be created by the organizers in this regard. No effigy/flag of any political, religious party or person belonging to any country shall be burnt.

PTI chief Barrister Gohar thanked Lahore’s district administration for issuing the NOC for the PTI rally, and appealed to more and more workers to attend the rally from all over the country.

He requested the management not to block the roads so that if there are no obstructions, the public can easily reach the site in time and they can end the meeting on time. Barrister Gohar also urged PTI workers to participate in the rally peacefully.

Earlier in the day, the opposition leader of Punjab, Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, along with several members of the Punjab Assembly, visited the Minar-e-Pakistan site only to find the gates locked and a heavy police presence barring their entry. The district administration, in a proactive move, has restricted public access to Minar-e-Pakistan by locking all gates and placing containers on the access roads.

A significant police deployment has also been stationed at the site.

Another party leader Sheikh Waqas Akram also visited the venue and inspected the arrangements being made there for the event.

PTI founder Imran Khan, during an informal conversation with journalists at Adiala Jail, warned that if the government denied permission for the Lahore rally PTI will turn the rally into a protest. He added that if the rally was blocked, the entire nation will protest at Minar-e-Pakistan.

Reporters: Rana Faran Yamin, Irshad Qureshi, Shahzad Ahmad, Mian Mazhar, Hashir Ahsan, Malik Mohammad Aslam and Usman Khadim Kamboh