Why did Gandapur abruptly call off Rawalpindi protest?

 RAWALPINDI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who failed to reach Rawalpindi as he got stuck at the Burhan Interchange, called off the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) much-hyped demonstration after clashes with the police.

However, the decision drew strong opposition from the PTI supporters as they surrounded Gandapur’s vehicle and demanded his resignation.

The confrontation ended following PTI leader Azam Swati’s intervention.

Speaking to the protesters, the former federal minister said they called off the Rawalpindi protest on PTI founder Imran Khan’s instructions. “I’ve personally met Imran […] We have to follow his directives.”

Meanwhile, sources told Geo News that the decision to call off the protest was made by PTI leadership.

They claimed that PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan sent a text message on WhatsApp to Gandapur at around 7:15pm, asking him to “go back as the [party has decided to] end protest”.

According to the sources, the PTI central leadership had already decided to call off the protest “if the situation deteriorates” while the provincial leadership was also informed in this regard.

The Gandapur-led convoy remained stuck at the interchange for hours due to closure of roads as the authorities had placed containers at Burhan Interchange in an attempt to thwart PTI’s protest.

Addressing the participants, the KP chief executive directed them to return back to Peshawar and castigated the government for not granting PTI its “constitutional right”.

He regretted that the police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters, vowing that they will come back with “all resources”.

“They [police] have set a precedent of firing bullets […] We also have guns,” he warned.

The firebrand politician noted that the allocated deadline for holding protest in Rawalpindi has ended.

Clashes broke out between the PTI workers and police near Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh ahead of its planned protest as the garrison city was put on high alert.

The Punjab government has imposed Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in Rawalpindi Division for two days, banning all political gatherings, sit-ins, rallies, protests and similar activities.

PTI had initially planned to hold a public rally at Liaquat Bagh, but shifted the event to a demonstration following directives from PTI founder Imran Khan.

It also withdrawn its application seeking a no-objection certificate (NOC) to hold a rally from the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench.