Weeklong rallies ban lifted after one day

Order withdrawn after deadly clashes in city

LAHORE:

A day after imposing a ban on rallies and public gatherings in Lahore for seven days, which apparently was aimed at stopping the Pakistan Teheek-e-Insaf (PTI) from organising its rally through any means possible, the Pumjab government conveniently withdrew the notification on Thursday.

According to an official letter issued on Wednesday, the ban under section 144 was imposed in the provincial capital on gatherings, rallies, sit-ins, protest demonstration and all kinds of public assemblies.

The ban was ostensibly imposed in view of undefined recent threat alerts, and to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

However, it had been alleged that the reasons had been available with the local administration all year round, whereas Section 144 is applied in exceptional circumstances.

There were also complaints that the ban was arbitrarily applied, as two women marches were allowed to proceed as per the schedule, while PTI’s attempt to organise a rally was harshly dealt with.

Measures employed to stop the procession ranged from vandalising vehicles in the rally, to pelting PTI supporters with rocks, firing tear gas shell and using water canon against women. A PTI worker died during clashes between the party activists and the police.

The caretaker government, instead of registering an FIR on the complaint of the aggrieved family or the PTI, lodged a complaint against the party's workers, claiming that rocks thrown by them had caused the death of their own supporter.

Police and administration officials refused to comment on the way matters had been  handled on Wednesday.

The provincial information secretary, when asked about the whimsical application of the ban, said it was a political question that should be referred to the minister.

When pressed about the administrative aspects of the issue, he  insisted that the spokesperson of the caretaker government was in a better position to answer the questions.   

Former caretaker chief minister Hasan Askari said while speaking to The Express Tribune that the way the section 144 had been applied showed that it had been meant only for the PTI.

Referring to how the participants of an earlier PTI rally had been dealt with on May 25 last year, he alleged that the PML-N government was known for adopting such highhanded tactics to suppress political opposition, and this was a shadow PML-N government by all visible means.

Askari said withdrawing the section 144 a day later had proved that the caretaker setup was biased against the PTI.

If all that had been done with the PTI was not enough, an FIR was also lodged against the party over the death of its worker, he added.

He warned that the way the government in collusion with the caretaker setup and various institutions was allegedly trying to stonewall elections was leading the country towards chaos. Such a dangerous situation had never arisen before, he added.

Former advocate general Ahmad Awais said he would challenge in courts the grounds of the imposition of section 144.

He alleged that the ban had been imposed only to stop the PTI's rally for the sanctity of the judiciary. He said that never in the history of Pakistan had such rogue behaviour by a government been observed.

He claimed that the country was fast moving towards anarchy.

Awais also accused the government of undermining the judiciary by disrespecting it and drawing wishful interpretation of its decisions.

He alleged that the government wanted to use the judiciary like a rubber stamp. The Information Minister of the Caretaker Government, when asked about the seemingly inadequate ground for imposing a ban, requested The Express Tribune to contact him later and then made himself unavailable for any comments.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2023.