Federal minister doubts PTI to get approval for Islamabad rally on August 22

ISLAMABAD: In response to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) announcement to hold a powershow in Islamabad, Federal Minister for Information & Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said on Monday that he did not believe the party would be given permission. 

Speaking to the Geo News show "Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath" on Monday, the federal minister said, "Considering their track record, I don't think they will be allowed to rally in the federal capital."

Meanwhile, PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat has expressed determination of his party in this regard, saying they would hold rally on Thursday, rain or shine.

Adviser to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister on Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif on Sunday said PTI founding chairman Imran Khan had "decided" to hold a powershow in Islamabad on August 22, after a protracted struggle to hold a rally in the city.

Saif had reassured that the party would try to avoid any violation of the law on their part.

Tarar said their recent past’s action could be taken into account to check veracity of the claim of its being a peaceful event. He also asked which PTI protest had ever been peaceful.

“One does not become peaceful [merely] by saying [so], one has to prove it,” he said.

Ostensibly, in response to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s rhetoric of holding rally in the federal capital, "come what may", he said it was not the first time as former KP chief minister Pervez Khattak too had come with cranes and modern equipment.

The minister said despite the fact that Jamaat-e-Islami (JI)’s recent sit-in protest against inflated electricity bills was peaceful, they were not allowed to enter Islamabad.

He suggested the KP government to focus on health, education and anti-terrorism activities in the province.

In the same programme, PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat said they would not stop from holding the rally on August 22, even if the government used force against them.

“The KP's caravan will be monumental and no one will be able to block it even if they try,” he said.

The PTI lawmaker said they would not be carrying any weapons or petrol bombs. Instead, he said, they would be armless and peaceful.

“We will remain peaceful,” he said. However, “if there is violence or firing, the whole Pakistan will rise up,” he warned.