PTI forced to shift rally from Rawat to Swat

Party changes venue after ICT refuses to grant it permission

ISLAMABAD:

The PTI leadership on Sunday decided to relocate its upcoming June 8 rally to Swat, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, after the federal capital’s administration refused to permit the party to stage its protest in Rawat -- a town that fell under the Islamabad Capital Territory’s (ICT) jurisdiction -- against the alleged theft of mandate in the February 8 general elections.

Expressing its dissatisfaction over the Islamabad administration's denial of issuing a rally permit at the desired location, the PTI has not only changed its venue but announced that it would challenge the decision in court as well.

While moving from Rawat to Swat, the party declared that it had the fundamental right to hold rallies across the country to engage the people in the democratic process.

The decision to shift the rally’s venue was made during a party meeting, which was attended by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan; General Secretary and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Omar Ayub; K-P Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur; ex-NA speaker Asad Qaiser; and Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan among others.

The PTI leadership said the decision reflected the party’s determination to confront the alleged electoral theft and mobilise public support despite the administrative hurdles.

The party has also invited the leaders of the opposition alliance to join the rally in Swat, saying they should stand united against the alleged electoral malpractices.

In addition, as the PTI is in power in K-P, the rally will now have backing of the provincial government.
The party officials said consultations with the K-P chief minister had already been completed for this purpose.

A party statement quoted the spokesperson for the opposition alliance, Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), as saying that not only would it participate in the rally, but also stage a “grand power show” in Swat on June 8.

A coalition of six opposition parties, under the banner of the TTAP, has recently kicked off its nationwide movement against the ruling alliance including the PML-N, PPP, and MQM-P among others.

The opposition alliance says that the movement will not only hold public gatherings but also engage bar associations, university students and other parties to muster their support for the campaign against the PML-N-led coalition government.

Following the meeting, Qaiser posted on social media platform X that the PTI would stage a rally on June 8 in Swat instead of Rawat, saying that the administration's conditional permission to hold it at a remote location in Islamabad was ill-intended as “the government is in a state of panic.”

Recalling that the PTI has the “honour” of holding the “largest and most peaceful” rallies in the political history of Pakistan, he said the party would approach the court against the decision of the administration.

“It is our democratic and constitutional right to hold a rally,” he wrote, confirming that the leaders of the PTI as well as other parties in the opposition alliance would address the rally.

Under his post, people questioned the move by asking why the PTI was not holding a rally in Punjab instead of K-P.

The decision to stage a rally of the united opposition front against the ruling coalition has come just days after PTI founding chairman Imran Khan conveyed to the party’s core committee that he was planning to soon give a call for a nationwide “peaceful” protest against the alleged rigging in the February 8 polls among other matters, directing it to complete the preparations in this connection.
During the party meeting held to change the rally’s venue, the party leaders maintained that the administration’s decision to allow holding the rally in the outskirts of Islamabad instead of F-9 Park, Parade Ground or Tarnol was based on mala fide intentions.

They added the decision was aimed at creating hurdles in organising a “peaceful” rally in the jurisdiction of the ICT.

Subsequently, the party decided that the decision would be challenged as it had the right to hold a peaceful rally anywhere in the federal capital’s jurisdiction.

Last week, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon turned down the PTI’s request to hold a rally in view of the "law and order situation", saying that the party had already violated the no-objection certificates issued on earlier occasions.

The decision was conveyed to the Islamabad High Court by a capital administration’s representative as it heard a contempt case about the party being denied permission to hold a rally.