Minister informs PTI's Gohar protests can't be allowed

ISLAMABAD: With the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) planning to hold its high-stakes "do-or-die" protest in the federal capital tomorrow (November 24), Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has conveyed to party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan that the government cannot allow any gatherings, sit-ins, or demonstrations in the city under the Islamabad High Court's (IHC) directives. 

The statement came on Saturday during a phone call with Gohar. The minister extensively discussed the current political climate and the implications of PTI’s protest scheduled for tomorrow in the light of high court's order. 

"We are bound to follow the IHC's orders, cannot allow any rally, gathering or sit-in," the security czar told the PTI chairman.

The Islamabad High Court on Thursday directed the authorities concerned not to allow the former ruling party to hold its protest in the federal capital, in adherence to the newly enacted peaceful assembly law.

The Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, 2024 empowers the district magistrate to regulate and ban public assemblies in the federal capital, proposing a punishment of up to three years or/and an unspecified fine to the members of an "unlawful assembly".

In today's conversation, Naqvi told Gohar that a high-level delegation from Belarus is set to arrive in Pakistan on November 24, while the Belarusian president will reach on November 25 for an official visit. The foreign delegation will stay in the federal capital till November 27.

Insiders said that the PTI chairman, after the meeting, asked the minister for time to have a consultation with the party in this regard.

"I will update you with the final decision after consultation," he said while speaking to Naqvi.

Meanwhile, PTI's political committee last night deliberated on the issues of cancelling tomorrow's protest march, keeping the IHC orders in view.

According to some PTI leaders, who were part of the last night deliberations, The News reported, majority of the committee members were in favour of calling off the November 24 protest march.

They were of the view that dialogue with the government should be given a chance. It was decided by the PTI’s political committee to present this option of cancelling the protest call and giving dialogue a chance to the jailed party’s founder Imran Khan for a decision.

Last week, Khan, who has been behind bars since August last year, gave a call for a nationwide protest against the alleged rigging in the February 8 elections, arrests of party workers, and the passage of the 26th Amendment.

The federal government braces up for tomorrow's PTI demonstration, with the capital city sealed off and major roads leading up to it partially blocked for traffic to keep the protesters from entering.

Various roads in the surrounding cities have also been shut, while the authorities plan to suspend cellular services countrywide.

The interior minister, earlier in the day had warned that the PTI protesters and any violators of the law won't be allowed to return from Islamabad.