Pakistan’s Punjab province bans public gatherings after fresh protest call by Imran Khan
Khan was arrested on August 5 last year after his conviction in the first Toshakhana corruption case filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Since then, he has been in jail in different cases.
Lahore: Pakistan’s Punjab government on Tuesday imposed a ban on all forms of public gathering in several districts citing “terror threats”, a day after jailed former prime minister Imran Khan gave a protest call to prevent a constitutional amendment undermining the judiciary.
Khan, 71, the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), on Monday called for countrywide protests for the “independence of the judiciary” after his party claimed the government was planning to bring an amendment to increase the retirement age of judges and fix the tenure of the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
The party will hold protests in Mianwali (Khan’s hometown), Faisalabad, and Bahawalpur on October 2, and demonstrate in Islamabad and Lahore on October 4 and October 5, respectively, said PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram.
To deal with Khan’s protest call, the Punjab government led by Maryam Nawaz Sharif imposed prohibitory orders in Faisalabad, Bahawalpur and Mianwali, barring all forms of public gatherings, a Punjab interior ministry statement said.
PTI’s rallies planned for Wednesday could be exploited by “terrorists” who could take advantage and “carry out subversive activities as [a] number of threat alerts have been received”, Dawn News cited the statement as saying.
It added “all kinds of political assemblies, gatherings, sits-in, rallies, demonstrations, jalsas, protests and such other activities” were prohibited for two days in Faisalabad and Bahawalpur and seven days in Mianwali.
The PTI recently held rallies in Islamabad and Lahore, demanding the release of Khan, independence of judiciary, and upholding the Constitution.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur of Khan’s party threatened the federal government led by Shehbaz Sharif and “other institutions” with dire consequences if action against PTI workers was not stopped.
Gandapur, announcing that PTI would hold demonstrations at the above locations, said: “If you hit us with one bullet we will respond to you with 10 bullets.”
Earlier, Khan said the “puppet” government wants to crush the PTI under the “London plan”.
“I was put in jail under the same plan. We staged a peaceful protest but the law failed to protect my party. Our women are languishing in jail. A case is registered against an 80-year-old woman, but no one cares,” Khan complained.
The cricketer-turned-politician said: “They (a reference to the military establishment) want to break me in jail but they will not succeed.”
“People should not be afraid of being imprisoned,” he said, adding that revolution was imminent.
Khan was arrested on August 5 last year after his conviction in the first Toshakhana corruption case filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan. Since then, he has been in jail in different cases.
