Imran Khan announces PTI gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan on Sunday ahead of Punjab polls

LAHORE – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday announced to hold a public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan on March 29 ahead of polls in the province.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has announced April 30 as date for polls after the Supreme Court ruled that elections must be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the assemblies.

The rally began with nearly two hours delay from his residence, Zaman park, as it was scheduled to kickstart at 2pm. The political carvan will conclude at Data Darbar where the PTI chief is expected to address the people.

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A post shared by Imran Khan (@imrankhan.pti)

A video posted by Imran Khan on his instagram shows heading towards his vehicle to lead the rally. Before riding the black vehicle, he offered a black goat as “Sadqah”.

Police have taken strict security measures as roads connecting to the route of the rally have been blocked while personnel have been deployed at different points to avoid any untoward situation. 

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A post shared by Imran Khan (@imrankhan.pti)

A day earlier, Imran Khan postponed his election rally after the interim Punjab government imposed the Section 144 in Lahore. 

Taking to Twitter, the former prime minister claimed that the Section 144 was imposed "illegally solely on PTI election campaign" despite other public activities ongoing in Lahore. 

"Only Zaman Park has been surrounded by containers & heavy police contingent. Clearly, like 8 March, Punjab CM & police want to provoke clashes to file more sham FIRs against PTI leadership and workers and to use as pretext for postponing elections," said the former prime minister.

The PTI chief questioned how Section 144 can be imposed in the provincial capital despite the announcement of the election schedule. 

This is the second time in less than a week that the Punjab government has imposed the restriction ahead of the election rally of the party.

PTI moves ECP against imposing Section 144 again in Lahore ahead of its rally