The PTI power show in Lahore came to an abrupt halt on Saturday evening as police took control of the stage after the city administration’s deadline of 6pm expired, and leaders and supporters left the rally location.
Footage showed PTI supporters and leaders exiting the stage, leaving it vacant.
Earlier today, PTI leaders began gathering at the party’s rally in the province capital’s Ring Road area, kicking off off the party’s highly anticipated Lahore power show.
However, the lights went out as the 6 pm deadline passed following some speeches by leaders.
Deputy Commissioner Lahore warned of ‘stringent action’ if the PTI violated the no-objection certificate.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub had not arrived at the rally site by the time of the deadline’s expiry.
Addressing the gathering’s participants earlier, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan stated that his party will not tolerate anything less than an independent judiciary.
Gohar congratulated the PTI Lahore chapter for organising such a ‘large gathering’ and urged authorities to avoid creating impediments for party.
Addressing a press conference shortly after the rally ended, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar described it as a “flop” and claimed that the PTI failed to deliver on its pledges.
“They talked a lot about the Lahore rally and made big promises. The Lahore rally, like the one in Islamabad, was a flop.”
The minister insisted that all highways in the provincial metropolis were accessible and that the PTI had “free access” into the city.
As per an administration spokesperson, the PTI was allowed to hold the rally at Kahna Kaccha, near the Lahore Ring Road, between 3 pm and 6 pm while complying with standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Videos posted by PTI on social media X showed Leader of Opposition Omar Ayub and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandpur on their way to Lahore.
On Friday, the Lahore district administration permitted the party to hold a public gathering on the outskirts of the provincial capital today with a condition that “the KPK Chief Minister would tender an apology publicly for his vitriol during the Islamabad rally”.
The administration has urged PTI not to allow anti-state or anti-institution slogans or statements to be made during the rally. Furthermore, it also warned PTI from hoisting Afghan flags or bringing in Afghan-paid personnel to the event.
This approval comes following a directive from the Lahore High Court, which ordered the district administration to decide on PTI’s rally request by 5 pm, as per the law. It is noteworthy that the Lahore High Court had also dismissed a petition seeking to block the rally, stating that it was inadmissible.
Lahore administration permits PTI to hold rally in Lahore at different venue
Earlier, before the party was granted permission, PTI founding chairman Imran Khan warned that his party will convert the public gathering into protest in case permission was not granted for holding the jalsa at Minar-e-Pakistan.
“PTI will stage public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan for the protection of Supreme Court and freedom”, Khan said while talking informally to media persons at Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi after the hearing of Al Qadir Trust case.
Khan said that PTI had not been allowed to hold a public gathering in Lahore for the last one and a half years. “Undermining democracy means destroying freedom”, he said, adding that holding public gatherings is our constitutional right.
He said that they had not allowed PTI to hold jalsa in Lahore before the general election and now they are also creating hurdles for us.