The Lahore High Court Thursday (today) allowed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to hold rally towards Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s residence in Raiwind against premier’s alleged corruption and accumulation of illegally attained wealth.
Earlier, a full bench of the Lahore High Court on Wednesday, after a conclusion of arguments, reserved verdict for today on petitions against and in favour of PTI rally towards Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s residence in Raiwind.
The pleas that were filed in the high court against the protest rally being purported as Raiwind march maintained that there was a threat of civil war and riots due to the much-hyped confrontation between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on coming Friday.
However, the high court acknowledged stance maintained by PTI that every citizen of Pakistan reserved the right to demonstrate a peaceful protest.
Punjab government, meanwhile, assured the high court of mobilising all functional assets for a provision of security to the locals.
Read more: PTI caravan leaves from Karachi to attend Raiwind march
-Differences in PTI resurface close to Raiwind march-
Differences among the top leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) once again resurfaced at the time when the party is going to hold Raiwind march on September 30.
PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Shafqat Mahmood, Hamid Khan and some other founding members are still absent from the scene as only Jahangir Tareen, Abdul Aleem Khan, Chaudhry Sarwar, Naeem-ul-Haq, Waleed Iqbal, Ijaz Chaudhry, Mahmood-ur-Rasheed, Aslam Iqbal, Samsam Bukhari, Shoaib Siddiqui, Jamshed Iqbal Cheema are active regarding the march.
On Tuesday, talking to the reporters, PTI Chief Imran Khan had admitted differences in the party and termed it ‘the beauty of democracy.’
Imran Khan had already postponed intra-party elections and suspended founding member Justice (r) Wajihuddin as chief election commissioner (CEC) for intra-party elections while the new CEC Tasneem Norani also resigned from his position over differences with the party chief.
Workers of the PTI also witnessed communication gap between the top leadership even on party’s foundation day in April, as Ch Sarwar’s supporters left for Islamabad from Qaddafi Stadium Lahore while Shafqat Mahmood along with his companions departed from Nasir Bagh to Islamabad.
Two groups came into being after the announcement of intra-party elections: Nazriyati Group (Shafqat Mahmood) which had the support of old members of the PTI, including vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Hamid Khan, Dr Yasmeen Rashid, Shireen Mazari, Saloni Bukhari, Waleed Iqbal, Sadia Suhail Rana and Saifullah Khan Niazi, whereas the second group comprises of former governor Punjab Ch Sarwar, Jahangir Tareen and Abdul Aleem Khan.
During the intra-party election campaign in March 2016, vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi in his speech to workers convention of the PTI Nazryati Group (Shafqat Mahmood Group) in Lahore confirmed serious differences between the top leadership of the party.
Shah Mahmood Qureshi had criticised Ch Sarwar who was contesting for PTI Punjab slot. He termed Ch Sarwar and Jahangir Tareen as “political children” and alleged that both were trying to hijack the party with the power of money.
Denying about differences in the party, Shafqat Mahmood told the news agency that Imran Khan had resolved the issues between the leadership, and the party now was focusing on Lahore rally.
To a question about Shah Mahmood Qureshi, he said that Qureshi would lead the march towards Raiwind along with the party chief.
Advisor to Imran Khan Dr Yasmeen Rashid also denied of party differences and said that there was no space for this type of politics in the PTI.
