LAHORE: The City District
Government, Lahore, (CDGL) has denied permission to the PTI to hold a public
rally at the Charing Cross on the alleged reason of security
concerns as well as the Lahore High Court ban on public rallies on The Mall.
Senior administrators
of the CDGL said that in response to the PTI’s request for a public rally on
The Mall on Sunday, District Coordination Officer (DCO) Lahore Muhammad Usman
wrote two letters, rejecting permission for conducting a rally. The first
letter (1698/Camp) was written on April 28, 2016, under the subject, ‘PTI
Public Meeting at Faisal Chowk’ and was addressed to Abdul Aleem Khan, chief organizer
of the PTI. The letter was written in reference to an application submitted by
the PTI for holding a meeting on May 1, 2016 at the Faisal Chowk.
The letter stated that the PTI councils were explained
of the threat alerts for Lahore and threats to PTI Chairman Imran Khan. The councils
were also informed about the Lahore High Court ban on holding of public
gatherings on The Mall.
“You are requested
to consider change of venue of the said public gathering. Another meeting will
be held on April 29, 2016 to discuss further modalities and allied security
arrangements,” the letter said.
On Friday, the CDGL
held a meeting with the PTI representatives which ended without reaching any
decision, as both the CDGL and the PTI did not change their stance.After the
meeting, the DCO Lahore again wrote a letter (1699/Camp) to Abdul Aleem Khan,
the PTI chief organiser. It stated that reference the office letter 1698/Camp
dated April 28, 2016, the PTI was informed about changing the venue for holding
a public meeting of the PTI.
“Today your
representatives attended the meeting and informed that the jalsa will be held
at Charing Cross, and that the party leadership has declined to change the
venue of the jalsa,” it said. “In the wake of the threat alerts and the LHC ban
on public rallies on The Mall, this office is unable to give you permission for
the said jalsa. And if your party decided to hold the jalsa at the said venue,
you will be solely responsible for any untoward incident. Furthermore, the law
shall take its course if the LHC orders are violated,” the DCO concluded.
In the letter, the
DCO Lahore requested the CCPO Lahore to convince the PTI leadership to change
the venue and make a contingency plan in coordination with the party for
foolproof security and traffic diversions.
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