KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur will lead PTI rally towards Islamabad.  Imran accepts resignation of Omar Ayub n Lawyer Salman Akram Raja named as PTI’s new secretary general.  Under the law, individuals will face up to 3 years of imprisonment for holding unauthorised public gatherings.

ISLAMABAD   -  In a major development, President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday signed into law the “Peaceful Protest and Public Order Act 2024” as opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf prepares for the much-hyped protest rally in the federal capital today.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday signed into law important bill titled “Peaceful Protest and Public Order Act 2024”, which would make the regulations for holding public rallies and processions in Islamabad tougher.  The bill was earlier passed by both the Senate and the National Assembly. The law ministry notified the law in the Gazette of Pakistan after receiving it from the President House on Saturday as well.

The act brings significant changes in the official framework governing public gathering of any nature in the federal capital. The new law clearly specifies designated areas within the capital for holding public gatherings or political gathering.

According to the new law, rallies and meetings without prior permission will be considered illegal, with strict penalties including heavy fine and imprisonment for organisers.

Under the law, individuals holding unauthorised public gatherings or rallies in Islamabad would face up to 3 years of imprisonment for a first offense, while repeat offenders could be jailed for as long as 10 years.

As per the new law the government/ administration would allocate specific venues for holding political gatherings. Sangjani which is in outskirts of Islamabad and other designated areas will be listed in an official gazette notification for public rallies, so that the official working of the federal capital may not get disturbed.

Any political or religious party wishing to hold a rally must seek approval from the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Islamabad, at least seven days in advance in writing. In case the DC denies permission, the applicant could challenge the decision before the Chief Commissioner through appeal.

If the appeal is unsuccessful, a review application may be submitted to the federal interior Secretary or home secretary for review.

The District Magistrate, who holds the authority to impose a ban on any type of public gathering, will also evaluate the security situation before granting permission to anyone.

Security clearance from relevant security agencies will also be required before final approval is given by the administration.

Under the law no public assembly will be permitted outside of the areas designated by the government.

The new Act introduces tougher measures for organizers to ensure public safety and order during political gatherings.

Organizers who fail to obtain the necessary NOC/permissions would legal actions under this new law.

Under the new law, political parties are required to provide detailed information regarding the venue, number of participants, speakers, timing, and subjects and objectives of the public meeting when applying for a permission.

Authorities believe that these tough measures will help the local administration in further streamlining public assemblies and ensure security in the capital city.

On the other hand, opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is all set to hold its much-hyped power show in the Sangjani area of Islamabad today – an event that will set the tone of the party’s future politics amid fears that its leader Imran Khan is going to be tried in a military court.

The party is holding the political rally to protest against alleged rigging in last general elections, to regain its “lost mandate” and to push the government to release former prime minister Imran Khan from jail.

Earlier on Saturday, different convoys of the PTI workers led by its legislators and regional leaders left for the capital city to participate in the rally that was earlier called off for a number of times due to lack of permission from the district administration.

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur will lead the PTI workers from the province to participate in the rally and it is being anticipated that it would be the biggest convoy of the party as compared to others joining the show.

It will be the first-ever political gathering of PTI in the capital city for the last two years when Imran Khan had moved from Islamabad to Lahore to avoid his arrest by the police. The Islamabad administration has already issued a no objection certificate to the PTI to hold the rally.

“It will be the biggest-ever rally in Islamabad’s history,” said PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan while talking to reporters at the venue. He said the rally would be peaceful and there would be no call of long march or sit-in from here.

The rally is being held against inflation, injustices and enforced disappearances, for the independence of judiciary, to ensure ‘real’ democracy and to bring ‘real independence’ for the country, he said, adding that it would prove to be a first drop of rainwater.

Gohar said the independence of judiciary was indispensable and there was no need to give extension in the tenure of judges or to increase their retirement age and to fix a tenure for the chief justice of Pakistan.

Calling it “a rally before the rally”, the chairman PTI said people had already started reaching the venue. He said all parties in the grand opposition alliance would participate in the gathering. He hoped that the local administration and police would not create any hindrances for the participants.

Major reshuffle in PTI:

Meanwhile, jailed leader Imran Khan has approved the resignation of PTI Secretary General Omar Ayub Khan in a move to bring some major structural changes within the party.

The party chief has decided to separate parliamentary affairs of the party with that of its organizational structure with Omar Ayub and Senator Shibli Faraz continuing to serve as opposition leaders in the National Assembly and the Senate respectively. Both will lead parliamentary affairs of the party.

The official sources within PTI informed that senior lawyer Salman Akram Raja has been nominated as the new secretary general of the PTI and MNA Sheikh Waqas Akram has been proposed as the secretary information.

The incumbent secretary information Raoof Hasan will head the party’s think-tank with the task to oversee the government performance and electoral matters. However, no official statement came from the PTI over such appointments. In his media interaction, PTI Chairman Gohar said that they would give the official statement once he meets with the party founder Khan on next Monday.

It was only Omar Ayub who himself talking on X announced that the incarcerated leader had accepted his resignation, submitted on September 4 through Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Senator Faraz. He had earlier resigned on June 22 but it was not accepted.

“Holding the offices of Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Secretary General PTI, pursuing my legal battles and looking after the issues of the constituency I represent in the National Assembly are all taken together with a tremendous workload,” he said, citing causes of his resignation. I will work closely and tirelessly with the new secretary general for the sake of PTI, he added.

ENDS/