Rawalpindi:
The authorities in Rawalpindi have imposed section 144 throughout the district, prohibiting all public meetings, motorcycle driving and demonstrations from August 4 to 10, citing security concerns ahead of the protest of August 5 by Pakistan Tehreek-E-Insaf (PTI).
The office of the attached commissioner issued a formal notification on Monday, stating that the restrictions are intended to maintain the law and order for a sensitive period.
According to the notification, “there will be a complete prohibition of political meetings, demonstrations and processions in the Rawalpindi district. Motorcycle conduction will also be prohibited from August 4 to 10”.
The notification also prohibits the visualization of weapons and the use of speakers in public spaces. The officials warned any attempt to eliminate official obstacles placed on the main roads of the legal roads, they warned.
Administrative repression occurs in the middle of the continuous efforts of mobilization of PTI despite the continuous political and legal challenges. The party has not officially announced a demonstration in Rawalpindi, but the authorities seem to be taking preventive measures.
It is worth noting that after a series of failed protests, the founder of PTI has once again decided to demonstrate street power to campaign for the rule of law and the liberation of leaders and workers of imprisoned parties. However, the party appears divided into key policy issues, with dissident voices increasingly emerging in public.
Days before its planned protest on August 5, the PTI faces generalized repression, with the leaders of the party that are hidden, the workers who inform in the home and several bank accounts, according to the reports, frozen. Party leaders and workers claim that the police in Punjab have intensified efforts to suppress the protest by launching an intimidation campaign.
Many party workers regret that since August 1, the police have been calling the doors, forcing workers to sign affidavits that promise not to participate in the protest.
The raids have taken panic within the rows of PTI, and multiple leaders choose to go underground to avoid arrest. The sources of the matches claim that the “doors of doors” campaign has expanded rapidly in recent days.
In addition to the pressure tactics on the ground, several reports of the financial restrictions imponed on PTI leadership have emerged. According to the reports, Hafiz Zeeshan Rasheed’s bank account, a PTI office bearer in Punjab, has been frozen, one of the many cases, according to the part.
