The Punjab government on Thursday imposed Section 144 in Lahore for the next six days, banning all political gatherings, sit-ins, rallies and protests in the provincial capital.
In a notification, the provincial home department said the restrictions would remain in place from Oct. 3 till Oct. 8, adding they were aimed at maintaining law and order and protecting lives and property. It maintained that public gatherings serve as “soft targets” for terrorists.
The decision comes days before the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has planned a protest at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore, scheduled for Oct. 5. The planned protest is being organized on the instructions of PTI founder Imran Khan, who has vowed to stage a series of protests nationwide for an “independent” judiciary. As part of this, the PTI would stage its next protest on Oct. 4 (tomorrow) in Islamabad, with Khan directing his party leaders to reach D-Chowk “come what may.”
Taking cognizance of this, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) had also imposed Section 144, coupled with the Peaceful Assembly Act, which bars any public gatherings or processions without prior permission of the district magistrate.
A day earlier, the PTI staged similar protests in Bahawalpur, Mianwali and Faisalabad. The Punjab government had already imposed Section 144 in the cities, resulting in clashes between PTI supporters and police.
According to Punjab police, they arrested over 500 supporters and lawmakers of the PTI for violating Section 144. Ahead of the protests, authorities sealed all entry and exit points of the cities with containers, further discouraging protesters. Law enforces also resorted to tear-gas shelling and baton charges to disperse the crowds, which the PTI’s leaders described as a “curfew-like” situation.