March 12 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Jan has decided to suspend the large rally scheduled for this Sunday in the city of Lahore after learning that the Pakistani government has invoked section 144, which opens the door to the arrests of its supporters for “holding an illegal meeting ” in what he described as a provocation by the authorities.
“Don’t fall into the trap,” Jan declared through his Twitter account in his cancellation message, where he denounced the enormous police presence concentrated in the Zaman park, near his home, where he planned to hold a rally.
“Only the park is surrounded by the Police. It is clear that they want to provoke confrontations. It cannot be that the Government invokes the 144 against a gesture of political activity. I am telling all supporters not to fall into this trap”, has warned the Ex leader.
In response, the acting chief minister of Punjab state and Khan’s rival, Mohsin Naqvi, has assured that “no political activity has been prohibited” but there are restrictions in place due to the holding of a cricket match and a race. marathon.
This Sunday’s episode is the umpteenth tug of war that Jan has starred in in his fight against the current Pakistani authorities and that has led him to entrench himself in his great stronghold of Lahore for the past few weeks.
Jan was the subject of a vote of no confidence in April 2022 after the Supreme Court reversed its decision to dissolve Parliament and announce early elections following the National Assembly’s refusal to hold the first-instance vote. In November, the former prime minister was shot after being shot during a protest against the new government.
This week, the Islamabad High Court canceled until March 13 the arrest warrants against Jan in the case of gifts he received while serving as prime minister and which he reportedly concealed in his statements. The law allows government officials to keep the gifts as long as they pay the state a fraction of their value, previously appraised.
