LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday announced that it will hold a public jalsa (rally) at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore on August 5 and formally sought permission from the district administration.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, along with other party leaders, met the Deputy Commissioner Lahore and submitted an application seeking permission to hold the rally.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Salman Akram Raja said holding a peaceful public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan was PTI’s constitutional and democratic right.
“We hope the district administration will facilitate a peaceful rally,” he said.
He added that the party had sought permission in accordance with the law and urged the authorities to allow PTI to hold the gathering either at Minar-e-Pakistan or at another suitable venue on August 5.
“If other political parties can be granted permission to hold public meetings, why should we be denied the same right?” Raja asked.
He said PTI intended to present the sentiments of the people before the nation through the rally.
The announcement comes after Aleema Khan, the sister of former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan, described August 5 as a “decisive battle” for her brother’s release from jail.
Addressing supporters in Mansehra on Saturday, Aleema Khan said PTI workers would not gather at Islamabad’s D-Chowk as they had in previous protests. Instead, she said, supporters would head directly to Adiala Jail to continue the campaign for Imran Khan’s release.
She also accused the government of issuing false statements in the name of the jailed PTI founder and circulating them through the media.
Aleema Khan further said Punjab had played a key role in PTI’s electoral success by helping the party win around 100 constituencies, and urged supporters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to stand alongside Punjab in the movement for Imran Khan’s release.