Gandapur meets Imran in Adiala ahead of protest on 4th

ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur Tuesday met with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder chairman Imran Khan in the Adiala jail to discuss a protest at the D Chowk on October 4.

Besides Gandapur, Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan, Jamshed Barki, Salman Akram Raja and Sheikh Muhammad Salman Advocate also reached Adiala jail to discuss legal and political matters and seek guidance from the incarcerated party leader.

It was learnt that the meeting continued for about an hour in the conference room. A source privy to the meeting claimed that the party supremo had praised Gandapur for his aggressive approach towards the rulers.

The current political situation was discussed in the meeting, in addition to the Rawalpindi protest of September 28. Also, the ‘D Chowk’ protest in Islamabad was deliberated upon amid reports that the local administration was sealing the federal capital. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, who often talks to the media, left without speaking to journalists waiting outside. The PTI founder has given a fresh call for a nationwide protest for ‘independence of the judiciary’ and a demonstration will be held at the ‘D Chowk’. However, this goes against the recently enacted law which completely banned public gatherings and meetings in the federal capital. Under the law, any party planning to hold a protest must appoint an event coordinator, who will write to the district magistrate for permission to hold the gathering seven days prior to the scheduled date. According to law, after receiving the application, the district magistrate will assess the existing law and order and obtain security clearance from the law enforcement agencies and then decide whether or not to grant permission. The law also empowers the administration to designate a specific area of Islamabad as a ‘red zone’ or ‘high security zone’, thereby banning all types of assemblies in that area.