Gohar to inform Naqvi about ‘PTI’s final decision on protest by 6pm’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan has informed Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi that he would inform him about the party’s decision on the protest by 6pm today, sources told Geo News on Saturday.

This was the second contact between the sides as the government aims to stop PTI’s November 24 (Sunday) protest and has ramped up security measures — deploying security personnel in Islamabad as well as closing major routes in Punjab and roads to Islamabad.

Interior Minister Naqvi held another detailed discussion with Barrister Gohar, the sources revealed.

Naqvi reportedly emphasised that an 80-member delegation of foreign dignitaries is set to visit Pakistan, adding that holding a protest under such circumstances is not appropriate for a political party.

Barrister Gohar informed Naqvi that consultations with other party leaders were underway. He stated that a final decision would be made after meeting with the rest of the party leadership.

The sources also disclosed that Barrister Gohar briefed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur about Naqvi’s call and assured the interior minister that the party’s final decision would be communicated by 6pm.

In his first call with the PTI chief, Naqvi had informed Gohar that no gathering, sit-in or protest can be allowed in the city in the light of Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) order.

“We are bound to follow the IHC’s orders, cannot allow any rally, gathering or sit-in,” the security czar had told the PTI chairman.

The Islamabad High Court on Thursday directed the authorities concerned not to allow the former ruling party to hold its protest in the federal capital, in adherence to the newly enacted peaceful assembly law.

The Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act, 2024 empowers the district magistrate to regulate and ban public assemblies in the federal capital, proposing a punishment of up to three years or/and an unspecified fine to the members of an “unlawful assembly”.

Naqvi had told Gohar that a high-level delegation from Belarus is set to arrive in Pakistan on November 24, while the Belarusian president will reach on November 25 for an official visit. The foreign delegation will stay in the federal capital till November 27.

Meanwhile, PTI’s political committee last night deliberated on the issues of cancelling tomorrow’s protest march, keeping the IHC orders in view.

According to some PTI leaders, who were part of the last night deliberations, The News reported, majority of the committee members were in favour of calling off the November 24 protest march.

They were of the view that dialogue with the government should be given a chance. It was decided by the PTI’s political committee to present this option of cancelling the protest call and giving dialogue a chance to the jailed party’s founder Imran Khan for a decision.

Last week, Khan, who has been behind bars since August last year, gave a call for a nationwide protest against the alleged rigging in the February 8 elections, arrests of party workers, and the passage of the 26th Amendment.

The federal government braces up for tomorrow’s PTI demonstration, with the capital city sealed off and major roads leading up to it partially blocked for traffic to keep the protesters from entering.

Various roads in the surrounding cities have also been shut, while authorities plan to suspend cellular services countrywide.

The interior minister, earlier in the day had warned that the PTI protesters and any violators of the law won’t be allowed to return from Islamabad.