Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Jan has decided to call off a large rally planned for this Sunday in the city of Lahore after learning that the Pakistani government has invoked Section 144 which opens the door to arrests of his supporters for »holding an illegal gathering» in what he described as a provocation by the authorities.
»Do not fall into the trap,» Jan has declared through his Twitter account in his cancellation message, where he denounced the huge police presence concentrated in Zaman Park, near his home, where he was scheduled to hold a rally.
»Only the park is surrounded by the Police. It is clear that they want to provoke clashes. It cannot be that the government invokes 144 against a gesture of political activity. I am telling all the sympathizers not to fall into this trap», warned the former president.
In response, the acting chief minister of Punjab state and Jan’s rival, Mohsin Naqvi, has assured that »no political activity has been banned» but there are restrictions in place due to the holding of a cricket match and a marathon race.
Sunday’s episode is the umpteenth tug-of-war between Jan in his struggle against the current Pakistani authorities, which has led him to barricade himself in his stronghold of Lahore during the last weeks.
Jan was the subject of a no-confidence motion in April 2022 after the Supreme Court reversed its decision to dissolve Parliament and announce early elections following the National Assembly’s refusal to hold the vote in the first instance. In November, the former prime minister was shot and wounded after being shot during a protest against the new government.
This week, the Islamabad High Court cancelled until March 13 the arrest warrants against Jan in the case of gifts he received while serving as prime minister and which he allegedly concealed in his statements. The law allows government officials to keep the gifts as long as they pay the state a fraction of their previously assessed value.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
