The PTI rally will take place ‘whether or not permission is granted.’
The former Chief Minister argues that the caretaker arrangement made a mess of things and turned the arrest warrant into a political fight.
LAHORE: PTI recently attempted to hold a demonstration in Lahore but was twice prevented by the caretaker government. This time, however, the party is adamant to move forward with its enormous public gathering at the Greater Iqbal Park with or without permission from the authorities.
In an interview with The Express Tribune, former governor of Punjab Omer Sarfraz Cheema claimed that although the party had requested permission in accordance with the court’s directives, instead of granting it, the authorities had compiled a list of hundreds of employees to be detained.
He claimed that the purpose of the mass arrests was to terrorise the populace and undermine the party’s support. The district administration and their party had not been in contact in any other official capacity, he continued.
Another prominent party leader, Musarrat Jamshed Cheema, stated that they had just applied to the Deputy Commissioner’s Office and would continue with their plan even if permission was rejected.
In recent days, the former ruling party attempted to hold rallies twice, but on both instances, Section 144—which outlaws all public gatherings—was put into effect.
Eventually, the Lahore High Court (LHC) took up this case and ordered the party to notify the district administration prior to staging a protest.
According to attorney Azhar Siddiqui, in this situation, the district administration’s consent is not necessary. He declared that since it was a public gathering, it might go on with or without his authorization. He continued by saying that asking for permission was merely ceremonial.
Hassan Askari Rizvi, a former interim chief minister, predicted that the issue will expose the partiality of the system. According to him, the interim administration bungled the arrest warrant and made it into a political controversy.
He added that the caretaker setup’s duties should be limited to overseeing the province’s business and staging free and fair elections.
