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Despite a “threat alert” from the interim Punjab government that terrorists might target political events in the provincial capital, former prime minister Imran Khan has been leading the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf rally at Lahore’s impressive Minar-e-Pakistan ground.
Imran Khan, the chairman of the PTI, has arrived at the location and will address the audience from a bulletproof container that has been set up at the jalsa ground to ensure his security, according to a report from Geo News.
The province government issued a warning that the 70-year-old former cricketer-turned-politician who was removed as prime minister in April of last year and is involved in 143 cases, could be targeted by terrorists.
Terrorists carrying explosives had arrived in Lahore, the government warned in its warning, and they would either target political rallies or the security personnel assigned to protect those events.
The government put containers on the route leading to Minar-e-Pakistan as the party was getting ready to hold the rally, making it difficult for participants to access the rally.
Many employees from Lodhran and Bhakkar, according to the PTI, have also been arrested.
PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged employees to walk to the rally if the roads were blocked, claiming that the administration had strewn the city with barricades in an effort to thwart the party’s planned public demonstration, which was suggestive of panic in the government camp.
“How on earth can they claim to be democratic? Are PML-N employees detained? Before the rally, Mr. Qureshi spoke with the reporters.
Mr. Qureshi firmly advised employees not to use force and asserted that “despite all the obstacles, people will come.”
Mr. Qureshi ardently pleaded with the authorities, “Please remove the containers. The police and the administration are requested to do so.” He added that the obstructions were evidence that PTI’s power show was already proving to be a success.
Since the rally declaration, he asserted, the police have detained between 1,500 and 1,800 PTI employees.
Additionally, he issued a code of behaviour warning for political workers, advising them to arrive at the rally without any weapons but rather with their passion.
Mr. Qureshi declared, “There is no weapon stronger than passion.”
The PTI leader declared that legal action would be taken to stop the April polls in this year from being moved to October.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan is asked to hear the petition on the causal list because of how sensitive the situation is. In a tweet, the PTI chief urged his followers in Lahore to join him at a rally that he predicted would “break all records” and would take place after Taraweeh prayers.
The ousted prime minister promised to outline “Haqeeqi Azadi” and how to get the nation out of the mess that a “cabal of crooks have put our country in.”
The Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) commander Mukarram Khurasani was contacted by foreign intelligence agencies, according to a warning released by the CCPO Lahore’s intelligence division, to “cause instability in the country by any means.”
The threat alert also stated that the JuA commander “could have specifically assigned” Imran Khan as the main target, and that other targets would include those present at the PTI chairman’s residence in Zaman Park, the party’s gathering on Saturday at Minar-e-Pakistan, and PTI rallies “as they would appear to be a softer target,” according to Dawn newspaper.
Imran Khan had on March 13 declared a rally at the Minar-e-Pakistan, the same location where he had started his campaign for the 2013 elections with a significant show of force.
He had initially planned the rally for March 19, but the Lahore High Court had ordered the PTI to change the date and speak with the administration.
After the PTI and the city administration came to an agreement, the LHC dismissed the PTI’s petition on March 22 to conduct a public rally there.
After disputes with the Punjab interim government over a local government ban on public gatherings, the PTI leader launched his election campaign from Lahore at the close of the second week of March.
In three cases filed at the Lahore Race Course police station, including two on March 14 and 15, relating to the clashes between PTI supporters and the police outside the PTI chief’s Zaman Park residence, the Lahore ATC earlier in the day granted Khan interim bail until April 4.
Imran Khan was accused of purchasing gifts, including a pricey Graff wristwatch that he had received as the premier at a reduced price from the state depository known as Toshakhana, and then selling them for profit.
The first prime minister of Pakistan to be removed by the National Assembly, Imran Khan was removed from office in April of last year after losing a motion of no confidence.
