Ex-PM Khan’s party postpones Islamabad rally after authorities revoke permission

ISLAMABAD: Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party announced on Thursday it would postpone a rally scheduled to be held in the federal capital of Islamabad today, saying it would now be organized in September.
The announcement came a day after the chief commissioner of Islamabad disallowed the PTI from holding the rally due to what he cited as security threats and a lack of resources with security agencies.
The rally was initially planned for July to build pressure for Khan’s release from prison following his arrest over a year ago, but the party had rescheduled it for August 22.
“Our leader Imran Khan has instructed to postpone the rally that we were planning in [Islamabad’s] Tarnol [area],” Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur, a close Khan ally, said in a video message. “We will now be holding this public gathering in Islamabad on 8th September.”
Gandapur said he wanted to tell all state institutions, courts and the federal government that Khan had proved again that he wanted to operate within the constitution and law and did not want a “clash” with anyone.
The PTI, which is aiming to mobilize the public for the release of its leader, has struggled to hold rallies across the country since August last year when Khan was arrested on multiple charges and subsequently convicted in four cases, all of which have since been quashed by higher courts. New cases have since been filed against Khan and he remains in prison. 
The party says it is facing a state-backed crackdown and the mass arrest of its members and supporters for standing by Khan. Pakistani authorities deny the allegations.
The action against the PTI began after people carrying its party flags attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after Khan’s brief arrest that day in a graft case. The attacks took place a little over a year after Khan fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military, blaming the institution for colluding with his political rivals to oust him from office in a parliamentary vote in April 2022. The military rejects the allegations.
Hundreds of PTI workers and leaders were arrested following the May 9 riots and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence. Many close Khan aides have since deserted him, due to what is widely believed to be pressure from the army, which denies interfering in politics.
Khan recently made a “conditional” offer of talks to the army, if “clean and transparent” elections were held and the “bogus” cases against his supporters were dropped. The military, which has repeatedly said Khan and his party were behind the May 9 attacks, has ruled out any talks with him.
REVOKED PERMISSION
On Wednesday, elaborating on reasons for not granting permission for the PTI rally, the chief commissioner said an assessment of the institutional capacity of the capital city police was sought, in response to which the Inspector General of Islamabad Police had said he did not have the available resources to manage the security needs of the PTI rally due to multiple events occurring simultaneously in Islamabad.
Recently, religious groups have held violent protests against a blasphemy ruling by the Supreme Court and the Bangladesh cricket team is also in Pakistan for two Test matches, for which police have been deployed to provide security in Islamabad’s twin city of Rawalpindi. 
“It is expected that the people coming for the [PTI] rally have a plan for a prolonged stay and also bringing items such as tear gas, masks, bedding or sleeping bags, and food provisions, indicates their determination to turn the jalsa [rally] into a sit-in,” the notification said. 
Pointing out that there were 46 embassies in Islamabad’s sensitive Red Zone, home to important government buildings like parliament and the Supreme Court, the notification called on authorities in different provinces, particularly Punjab, to prevent participants from entering Islamabad for the planned rally on Aug. 22.
The chief commissioner said the Special Branch had also declined to give a go-ahead for the rally due to “threats against public gatherings” and the “current law and order situation.” Representatives of the ISI, MI and IB intelligence agencies had also expressed concerns, “citing the law and order situation, threat alerts, the presence of the Bangladesh Cricket Team, and recent disturbances caused by Khatm-e-Nabuwat [anti blasphemy] rallies in the Red Zone.”
“The agencies referred to the past conduct and track record of the PTI which indicates that a severe law and order situation might arise; and strongly recommended that no political rallies should be allowed under the current circumstances,” the notification concluded.