With Pak Opposition adamant on Lahore rally, PM Imran Khan says cases to be filed against organisers

As calls for his government to step down louden, a rattled Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan ruled out the possibility of the government granting permission to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for holding anti-government rallies and warned that police cases will be lodged against organisers.

As calls for his government to step down louden, a rattled Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan ruled out the possibility of the government granting permission to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) for holding anti-government rallies and warned that police cases will be lodged against organisers. In an interview to a private news channel, the premier said the government has decided against allowing the Opposition to hold the public gathering, Geo News reported. "We will file FIRs against everyone -- from the kursi wala to the sound system handlers but won't stop them [Opposition leaders] from going there," he said.

The premier was referring to the December 13 public gathering in Lahore announced by the 11-party opposition alliance. The jalsa in question is being hosted by PML-N. The Pakistan prime minister made similar threats ahead of Peshawar and Multan rallies. However, the opposition did not back down and had organised these events.

Deputy Commissioner Lahore has also refused to grant permission to hold the rally at Minar-e-Pakistan due to the ongoing health crisis in the country. Earlier in the day, while addressing a public meeting at the Bacha Khan Chowk, leaders of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) consisting of an 11-party alliance, said that the wrong policies of the Imran Khan-led government had brought the country to the brink of economic disaster.

Dawn quoted PDM as saying, the struggle they had launched would continue until the ouster of the rulers who had been "imposed on the country after stealing the people's mandate in the 2018 elections." Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam's chief Maulana Abdul Wasey, Senator Usman Kakar of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Agha Hassan of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal, Khair Jan Baloch of the National Party, Rasheed Khan Nasar of the Awami National Party, Wali Mohammad of the PPP and Abdul Wahab Atal of the PML-N were among the leaders who spoke on the occasion, Dawn further reported.

The PDM has held five similar rallies in Peshawar, Gujranwala, Karachi, Quetta and Multan since October 16. (ANI)

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