Warming up: PTI hold rallies to muster support for shut-down

Hundreds of motorcyclists participate in rally from Liberty to The Mall.

LAHORE: Hundreds of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) Youth Wing workers rallied in the streets of Lahore on Sunday to show support for the party’s plan to shut down the city on Monday (today).

Members of the Insaf Youth Wing and the Insaf Students’ Federation organised the rallies across the city. They burnt tyres on the road near the University of the Punjab’s new campus.



The party had launched a campaign earlier this week to mobilise support for its ‘shut-down’ call.

Several meetings between PTI leaders and workers to chalk out a strategy for the Monday show were part of the campaign.

On Saturday, they had met traders on The Mall and invited them to join their protest.

The rally that was scheduled to start at 1:30pm at Liberty Chowk was taken out with an hour’s delay. A large number of motorcyclists participated.

PTI Lahore president Abdul Aleem Khan led the chants of Go Nawaz Go.

He said the city would remain closed on Monday (today).

“Show the rulers the massive support for [PTI chairman] Imran Khan. You should ensure that the city is completely shut down… support the PTI’s call for justice,” he said.

Several policemen were deployed at Liberty Chowk. Traffic on the roads leading to Liberty Market was slightly affected.

“Today we are going to let the PML-N know what they are in for tomorrow,” said Punjab Youth Wing president Zubair Khan Niazi.

He accused the government of forcing traders into doing businesses today.

“No matter what trick the government uses, our supporters will make sure that the protest remains peaceful.”

The rally proceeded to The Mall via Main Boulevard and Jail Road and concluded at Charing Cross.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2014.