Imran Khan's party gets permit for rally after PTI announced to hold power show even as Pak govt. pulls all stops to prevent it

Lahore, Sep 20 (PTI) Jailed former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan's party was on Friday granted permission to hold its much-hyped power show in Lahore after the PTI announced it was determined to go forward with the rally even as the Pakistan government intensified its crackdown against its leaders and workers in Punjab.
     The district administration, in light of the orders given by the high court, granted permission to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to hold its power show at Lahore's Ring Road in Kahna on Saturday.
     Hearing a petition filed by PTI that the government is not allowing it to hold a peaceful rally at the historic Minar-e-Pakistan here and that the police are arresting/harassing its workers, the Lahore High Court on Friday directed Deputy Commissioner Syed Musa Raza to decide by 5 pm on the party's application.
     In a no objection certificate (NOC), the deputy commissioner set 43 conditions, including a time limit from 3 pm to 6 pm, for Saturday's public gathering, The News International reported.
     The conditions also included that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur “should tender apology publically for his vitriol during Islamabad Jalsa on September 8, whereas, all those under trial for hate speech in the previous public gathering shall not be allowed to participate/appear on stage".
     It added that no anti-state/anti-institution sloganeering and statement be made during the rally and restricted the PTI that “no Afghan flag to be hoisted and no Afghan paid manpower to be brought to Jalsa”.
     “No proclaimed offender will participate/appear in Jalsa. If so facilitating their arrest will be the responsibility of the administration of Jalsa," the NOC said in its conditions.
     Khan, 71, has termed the holding of the rally a "do-or-die" situation and expressed optimism about the success of his party's power show in Lahore.
     The PTI leader and the district administration are bickering over the timing of the rally with the former insisting on extending the time limit to 11 pm.
     Negotiations are underway to finalise the rally's time, sources said.
     On an action-packed Friday, police took over the rally venue, the Minar-e-Pakistan here, and arrested 50 PTI members from different parts of the province as Khan threatened the government with a 'jail bharo' (court arrest).
     The authorities denied permission to the party to hold the public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan earlier on Friday and deliberated on finalising a different venue.
     Meanwhile, the party has expedited preparations and prepared a container for Gandapur, who will travel to the rally venue from Swabi, sources closer to PTI told Geo News.
     Gandapur will address PTI workers in the central convoy in Swabi before departing to Lahore, the sources said.
     The party said the rally -- Lahore Jalsa as it is being called -- is being held to put pressure on the government to "free Imran Khan from jail", "uphold the Constitution" and against "unprecedented inflation".
     Lahore is the capital of the Punjab province, where the government is helmed by Maryam Nawaz of Khan's arch-rival party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)