The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has postponed its public gathering – Jalsa – in Tarnol, Islamabad. The jalsa was scheduled to be held today.
The PTI rallies today were on their way from KP to join this gathering but the party has differed it till the 10th of Moharram is passed. The PTI canceled this show after the Chief Commissioner Islamabad yesterday suspended the NOC earlier issued to the part after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered.
The party leaders announced that the gathering had to be held today even after the district administration has suspended the permission. It also launched a petition in the IHC seeking contempt of court proceedings against the administration. The petition also requested the court to fix it today for hearing.
However, Chairman PTI Barrister Gohar Ali Khan with the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub Khan announced the party has cancelled this event today. It will be organized after 10th of Moharram, they said adding that the PTI believes in the supremacy of law and will hold this event after the court again orders for it. they said the event was to support the nation against heavy taxes on, high inflation, and electricity bomb on the messes. They said the PTI believes the court will take right action.
They said it was a political victimization against the PTI that was demanding nothing against the constitution and law of the land. The chief commissioner Islamabad suspended this NOC stating over security concerns and the sensitive situation during the month of Moharram. It said that already the police have confiscated weapons denoted material that was to be used to tarnish the security and against the people.
The district administration before the suspension of this NOC yesterday called a high-level meeting to review the security situation. Police parties and civil societies were invited to attend this meeting but the PTI didn’t attend it, said the chief commissioner’s office. The meeting reviewed the applications submitted to the DC office related to holding the rally and reconsidered the permission that the deputy commissioner granted.
The meeting decided to suspend the NOC to ensure the safety of citizens’ lives and property, saying the administration was committed to maintaining law and order this month. After the NOC was suspended, the Islamabad Police raided the PTI’s rally venue -Tarnol – and removed the stage containers, barbed wire, and other equipment.
The police said the venue was being cleared after the NOC had been canceled. The Islamabad administration earlier said strict legal action will be taken if anyone tries to take the law into their own hands. The district administration was not aware of the situation earlier and issued the notification looks a surprising element of the stance it is now taking for security. However, the PTI didn’t buy the government’s narrative and said such tactics will not work long.
