KARACHI: PTI leaders are resolute to hold a public gathering at Mazar-i-Quaid in Karachi today with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on his way to the mausoleum as the party alleges that authorities have blocked the routes leading to the venue and its workers are being barred from reaching the venue.
The rally has been planned as part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s three-day visit to Sindh, who is leading his party’s street mobilisation movement.
The visit began with his arrival in Karachi on Friday afternoon. He visited Hyderabad yesterday, and the PTI plans to conclude his visit with a public gathering in Karachi today.
PTI spokesperson Mohammad Ali Bozdar said while speaking to media that police had blocked roads and were not allowing party workers to enter Bagh-i-Jinnah, where the government had allowed the party to hold the rally.
The KP CM would now arrive at Mazar-i-Quaid at 3pm, he said, reiterating his allegation that police had blocked roads in various areas and were preventing PTI workers from reaching the new venue as well.
When again reached out to him at around 3:30pm, he said the KP CM’s convoy, which also included other party leaders, had left a farmhouse in Gadap and was on its way to Mazar-i-Quaid.
“He is expected to reach there at 4pm,” he said, adding that CM Afridi would pay his respects at the mausoleum and later on, he would address party workers from a truck, the arrangements for which had been completed.
PTI changes venue
PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh also said in a video statement that the rally would definitely be held at Mazar-i-Quaid today.
Criticising the Sindh government for allegedly blocking the rally, he recalled the Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani had welcomed the KP CM at the Karachi airport and presented a Sindh cap and Ajrak to him.
“Was that a pretence?” he questioned, slamming the Sindh government for its “shamelessness”.
On the party‘s decision to hold a gathering outside one of the gate’s of Mazar-i-Quaid, he said, “Holding a rally at a public gate does not block any route.”
The party initially planned to hold the rally at Bagh-i-Jinnah, and the PPP-led Sindh government had even issued a no-objection certificate for it despite objections from the PML-N.
But the PTI blamed the Sindh administration for “wasting their time” and announced that the public meeting would now be held in front of the Quaid’s mausoleum.
In a late-night development, PTI spokesperson Fauzia Siddiqui posted on X that the Sindh government wasted their time as the deputy commissioner East had issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) on Saturday evening at 6:30pm.
“The public power witnessed in Karachi yesterday has frightened them; they can’t decide what to do now. The people of Karachi will be at the Mazar-i-Quaid public gate at 2pm with our guest, chief minister of KP, Sohail Afridi. We will hold a public meeting at the VIP gate at 2pm,” she stated.
But Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar warned of strict action if any public meeting was held on the road. “No one is allowed to challenge the writ of the government,” he said in a statement.
Later, Sheikh posted on X that the rally would be held at Bagh-i-Jinnah, but the venue was changed back to Mazar-i-Quaid after the PTI alleged that a police raid had been conducted at Bagh-i-Jinnah.
PTI alleged that authorities had raided Bagh-i-Jinnah, subjected PTI workers to violence and also arrested several party workers.
Party spokesperson Bozdar alleged while speaking to media that when workers reached Bagh-i-Jinnah around 2am on Sunday for rally arrangements and preparations, around 15 to 20 police mobiles reached the spot and law enforcement personnel resorted to baton-charge. They detained over a dozen PTI workers, he claimed.
In one of her posts at around 4:30am, Siddiqui said that containers had been parked around Jinnah Ground and police personnel were present at the site in large numbers.
In another post, she alleged police had “attacked” Bagh-i-Jinnah, arrested several PTI workers and their belongings had been confiscated.
Similarly, Sheikh said in a post on X at around 2:30am that “this fascism against peaceful workers was unfortunate. The PPP and Sindh government, which harp about democracy, should feel ashamed“.
In other posts, he decried the alleged police raid at Bagh-i-Jinnah and claimed PTI workers had been subjected to violence.
In his video statement today, he alleged the NOC for the rally had been deliberately delayed, further questioning that when the Sindh government had granted permission for the rally, “why was our vendor beaten and made to flee?”
He decried that the PPP was no longer late prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s party.
PTI Karachi President Raja Azhar and party member Faheem Khan also said in a statement that a public gathering would be held at Mazar-i-Quaid at 3pm.
“Police brutality and blocking of roads cannot dampen the morale of the people,” Azhar said, adding that the rally would prove to be the “public’s referendum against cruelty”.
Similarly, Faheem Khan urged people to participate in the rally and termed the alleged blocking of roads “an attack on the rights of the people”.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja spoke to the media at Karachi Press Club today, where he decried the “barbarity” that PTI members had been subjected to.
“Cars were smashed, and two dozen members have been detained unlawfully. A lawyer of ours was detained this morning at Bagh-i-Jinnah. It is cordoned off by police right now,” he said , adding that the PTI had the NOC for the rally.
“So the rally will happen,” he asserted.
In response to a media query, police sources denied detaining any PTI workers this morning and said they just removed them from Mazar-i-Quaid. The sources said police took action to disperse the party workers, alleging that they had blocked a main road.
The sources also said that while there would be no restriction on the movement of KP CM Afridi, PTI workers would not be allowed at Mazar-i-Quaid.
KP CM claims routes blocked from Hyderbad to Karachi
Earlier, KP CM claimed in a post on X that “upon my return from Hyderabad, all routes for me and my entire team have been blocked. For the past four hours, I’ve been switching between different routes. At 4:23am, we’ve now set off toward Karachi on a deserted road“.
“The Sindh government is not only playing with my life but also with the lives of my team members,” he said, warning that the precedent of such treatment being meted out to the CM of one province in other provinces would “prove highly detrimental in the near future”.
“Pakistan belongs to all of us. Do not spread hatred here to such an extent that it becomes impossible to return from that point. Fake democratic forces are not leaving any stone unturned in this. This is extremely shameful,” he said.
Later, in a video message shared on PTI’s X account, the CM said: “We reached Karachi around 7:15pm […] We will definitely hold a rally today. It took us seven and a half hours to reach Karachi from Hyderabad.
“They had blocked the route at different places and we were compelled to travel on a deserted route. This was tantamount to putting my and my team’s lives at risk, as anything could have happened there.”
He urged Karachiites to come out for the rally today, adding that “they (the Sindh government) are afraid of the rally, but it will be held”.
Raja also posted on X that he had reached Karachi from Hyderabad after “seven hours, driving through jungles in the CM KPK’s vehicle”.
“Motorway closed. The fascist state lost its nerve after seeing the massive response of the people, given two days of freedom and human dignity,” he said.
PTI not abiding by assurances, claims Memon
From the Sindh government, Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon maintained that his provincial government had warmly welcomed Afridi and provided him with complete security.
“The post of chief minister is a constitutional post and constitutional posts have been fully respected,” he said in a statement, maintaining that the PTI was in constant touch with the Sindh government.
He then accused the opposition party of “not abiding by the assurances” it had given, but did not specify any guarantees.
“It was clearly said on the very first day that they are allowed to hold a rally. It is inappropriate to make allegations against the Sindh government despite this,” he said, maintaining that no one had stopped the PTI from holding a rally in the ground.
However, the manner in which rallies and processions were being taken out on the roads was causing severe traffic disruption and common citizens were facing difficulties, he said.
“Karachi is a metropolitan city; traffic problems arise here even when a few hundred people gather,” he said. “We want the KP chief minister to complete his visit in a peaceful manner.”
He said that PTI workers should not take the law into their own hands and should follow the guidelines given by the government. The movement of common people should not be affected and violation of laws should be avoided, he added.
Memon said a security alert had also been issued regarding the rally, and a security plan had been devised.
“Unfortunately, the security plan is not being followed,” he claimed, further maintaining that complete security had been provided by Sindh police in connection with the rally.
“In view of security concerns, the instructions of the Sindh government should be followed, and only routes allocated by the government should be used,” he said.
Memon claimed that the route designated for the PTI in Hyderabad had not been followed and they took a route of their own choice.
“It is not correct to say that the convoy of the chief minister of KP was stopped on its return from Hyderabad,” he said. “The place where the convoy faced difficulty is the National Highway Authority bridge, where traffic congestions are frequent.”
More to follow
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