ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan will hold a rally in Lahore on Monday, local media reported, after twice postponing it due to a ban imposed by the caretaker provincial government. 

Khan first called off his rally in Lahore on March 8 following after clashes between his supporters and police resulted in the killing of a party activist. On Sunday, the ex-premier once again postponed the public gathering until Monday afternoon after the government restricted his party from holding the rally. 

The rally was announced as part of election campaign by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) opposition party for the Punjab provincial assembly elections. 

The ex-premier said on Twitter seemed again that Section 144, which empowers the administration to ban any activity, had solely been imposed his party’s election campaign, but the caretaker Punjab chief minister Mohsin Naqvi responded in a tweet that there was no ban in place and “all political parties are freely allowed to campaign.” 

PTI supporters would rally behind Khan from his Zaman Park residence till Data Darbar at 2pm on Monday, according to PTI Lahore Chapter President Imtiaz Shaikh. 

“Imran Khan will lead the rally,” Shaikh was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s Geo News channel. 

In a notification on Sunday, the administration in Lahore also allowed the PTI to hold the rally that entails “high-security risk due to the general and specific threats against political gatherings and previous instance of attack on the ex-prime minister,” the Dawn newspaper reported. 

The permission was given after an undertaking by the organizer to the “effect that in case of any untoward incident he shall be held responsible,” according to the notification, which also barred speeches against constitutional offices, including the military and judiciary. 

Khan, who was ousted from power in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April last year, has been campaigning for nationwide polls, which are otherwise scheduled to be held by October. 

In January, Khan’s party and allies dissolved provincial assemblies in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces as part of the same effort. 

General elections in Punjab are scheduled to be held on April 30.