PTI denied permission for Liberty Chowk rally

LAHORE: The Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) office has declined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) the authorization to stage a public rally at Liberty Chowk.

The DC office has officially responded to the Lahore High Court (LHC) following a petition by PTI, which sought permission to hold the rally at Liberty.

According to the DC office’s statement submitted to the LHC, “A meeting involving all relevant departments was convened on October 10. It was observed that PTI workers and leaders were involved in acts of vandalism during their protest on May 9.”

Consequently, the District Intelligence Committee has denied the No Objection Certificate (NOC) for PTI’s rally at Liberty.

In response, the Lahore High Court has directed PTI to submit a new request for holding the rally at an alternative location, rather than Liberty Chowk, which was the initially proposed site by PTI.

The court’s decision follows PTI’s request for authorization to stage the rally at Liberty Chowk, which has now been denied.

Justice Raheel Kamran, while delivering the ruling, mentioned that if PTI fails to obtain permission for the new venue within a 72-hour timeframe, no political party will be allowed to hold a rally.

The decision to deny permission for the rally at Liberty Chowk is rooted in security concerns stemming from the events of May 9.

It is worth mentioning here that additional secretary general PTI central Punjab had approached the Lahore High Court seeking permission to hold party’s rally at Liberty Chowk on October 15.