PTI Announces To Change Venue For Public Rally In Sialkot

The decision comes after police launched crackdown on PTI workers to bar them from holding public gathering at the ground owned by local Christian community.

SIALKOT: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-May 14^th, 2022) Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday announced to change venue for public rally to VIP ground after police launched crackdown on party workers and arrested them.

The police also arrested Usman Dar and many others and removed chairs from the ground owned by local Christian community.

The police launched the operation in the wee hours on Saturday. Upon resistance by PTI workers, police resorted to tear gas shelling and baton-charge in an effort to disperse PTI workers.

“We have implemented the court orders as the Christian community had approached the Lahore High Court against the PTI gathering,” said the Sialkot DPO.

He said they did not arrest the PTI workers.

Addressing a press conference, PTI Punjab President Shafqat Mahmood said that their peaceful party workers were tortured by police and claimed that police action was launched on directions of Khawaja Asif.

The former minister strongly condemned arrests of PTI leaders and workers and demanded their immediate release and reiterated that rally will be held in the city no matter what.

The PTI leader said that they want to exercise their rights in a democratic manner and asked government to come to its senses. He added that government is bent on using force and warned that it will be responsible if something untoward happens.

PTI Chairman Imran Khan expressed regret over the use of state power in Sialkot while Shah Mahmood Qureshi that they could not be stopped from their legal right but asked his party workers to remain peaceful and must not break the law; however, former foreign minister reiterated that the rally would be held no matter what.

Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz said that government could not allow PTI to hold public rally at CTI Ground in Sialkot due to reservations of Christian community.

Talking to media persons outside accountability court, CM Punjab asked PTI to change venue and hold the public meeting at some other appropriate place.