Pakistan’s capital was tense ahead of a planned rally by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Pakistan’s capital was tense on Sunday (September 8, 2024) ahead of a planned rally by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party to press the government for his release.

Mr. Khan has been in jail since his arrest on August 5, 2023. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally is being held on a ground near the Sangjani Cattle Market in the suburbs of Islamabad.

The Islamabad district administration has already issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) for the rally, and preparations are in the final stages.

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After the city administration revoked its no-objection certificate and sealed roads leading to the federal capital on August 22, the party put off its public gathering in Islamabad and rescheduled it for September 8.

PTI announced that the rally would begin at 2 p.m.. PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan said on Saturday (September 7) that the rally would be peaceful.

“Our rally will be peaceful, and we have an NOC. No obstacles should be placed in our way,” he said. It would be the first major rally by the PTI in Islamabad since the February 8 elections. The party wants to exert pressure on the government to release Khan who languishes in jail despite the courts either acquitting him or giving him bail in all cases he was convicted.

Mr. Khan has repeatedly shown a willingness to hold talks with the establishment while refusing to sit with the government. So far all his tactics have failed to get any relief. Mass protest is an option but his party has been facing pressure to avoid it.

Today’s rally is a test for both the government and the PTI as it will help them gauge the ground power swell for Mr. Khan and fine-tune their policies and tactics in the coming days.

However, the government was not taking any chances. It has put in place measures to curtail the free movement of participants and forestall any protest plan. It has blocked all major entries to Islamabad by placing shipping containers on roads.

Sources told PTI that the Islamabad administration prepared a security plan under which senior officers of the Islamabad Police would be deployed in different parts of the city.

The hospital administration has also been asked to be alert by the administration. The Metro bus service has been completely stopped in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari signed into law the Public Order and Peaceful Assembly Bill 2024 hours before the planned rally, instituting strict measures for unauthorised gatherings.

The new law introduces penalties for holding gatherings without permission in Islamabad, with violators facing up to three years in prison and fines. Repeat offenders could be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail.