PTI adamant on holding show at Parade Ground

ISLAMABAD: Unfazed by the Islamabad administration’s ‘no’ to allow the party to hold a rally at the Parade Ground here, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Wednesday decided to defy the refusal and to go ahead with its plan to stage its political rally at the same venue on October 4.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan has been repeatedly calling for the resignation of four members of the Election Commission of Pakistan, accusing them of rigging the 2013 general elections and expressing his apprehensions that they would influence the upcoming local government elections as well.
The ECP members have rejected outright these allegations and vowed to continue their stint.
It is quite interesting to note that though Imran mainly blames the Election Commission Member Punjab for his alleged role in rigging the electoral process, yet he has been asking all the four members to resign.
“The party had written on Monday to the administration about its proposed programme to organize a rally at the Parade Ground, and in the light of that some PTI leaders met the Islamabad deputy commissioner and some other officials, who, instead of directly saying no, referred to the imposition of Section 144 in the Federal Capital,” said one of the PTI leaders who was present at the meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
The administration suggested to the PTI representatives to have their political meeting at F-10 Park or elsewhere instead, since it might be too risky to have it in the Red Zone.
Immediately after this meeting, the PTI had a detailed discussion at the party’s Central Secretariat under Saifullah Khan Niazi, who heads the committee tasked with making arrangements for the political activity, the first major show of power by Imran here after his 126-day sit-in last year.
A party leader told The News that Niazi said that if they could hold a peaceful historic sit-in in the federal capital, they would not hesitate in organizing a peaceful public meeting at the Parade Ground and disperse well before midnight to exert pressure on the ECP members to go home.
The PTI leadership feels that the administration has to allow them to arrange purely a political event or there would be a confrontation between the two sides.
“Already, we have decided not to stage a sit-in before the Election Commission, which would have been a big challenge to the government.
“The ECP Secretariat building is opposite to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and next to it is the Supreme Court building, followed by the Parliament House,” he noted.
It is being keenly awaited to see how Imran pleads his case for resignation of the ECP members since he has apparently softened his tone gradually in recent days. Imran questions the credibility of the local bodies’ election if held in the presence of these members.
NNI adds: Meanwhile, Islamabad District Administration refused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) permission to hold a rally outside the Election Commission of Pakistan on October 4.
The PTI has vowed to hold the rally at the same location.
The Islamabad administration has said that no rally can be held in the Red Zone under Section 144. It said that if the PTI intends to hold a rally outside the Red Zone then it should notify its strategy, adding that security arrangements for the rally, code of conduct, traffic plan and parking space necessary for the rally have to be taken care of.
On the other hand, a PTI spokesperson has vowed that the party will hold the rally on October 4. A meeting of local PTI officials has also been summoned regarding the rally. The meeting, to be chaired by Saifullah Niazi, will decide the future course of action on holding the rally.