Lahore police launches crackdown against service providers of PDM's latest rally
Dec 15, 2020
Lahore [Pakistan], December 15 : After the sixth power show of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the opposition's 11-party alliance, in Lahore on Sunday, Lahore police has launched a crackdown on service providers for the event.
The police high-ups assigned divisional SPs to identify and arrest the people who looked after seating and other arrangements for the PDM public gathering, and take legal action against those responsible for helping to organise the rally, Dawn reported.
The district government was also assigned the same task, after which the Shahdara police registered a criminal case against two major dealers, Mian Imran and Mian Shahid, for facilitating the opposition rally by selling 7,000 chairs.
The complainant alleged that the suspects blatantly violated Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Covid-19 and Section 144 imposed by Punjab.
Dawn reported an official saying that the police obtained some photographs and video clips of Mian Imran when he made his appearance in the Lahore public gathering.
He said the police personnel deputed for security at the power show confiscated most of the chairs from the venue and also deployed force so that no one could collect the chairs.
Fearing police action, many of the shopkeepers and dealers have gone underground after closing their business points.
This comes as the fearful Prime Minister Imran Khan's government registered a case against a central leadership of the PDM for causing irreparable damage to a national asset at the Sunday jalsa.
According to Geo News, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz and PML-N leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique, Ahsan Iqbal and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi have been named in the case, while other opposition leaders including Rana Sanaullah and Marriyum Aurangzeb, have also been named.
Ahead of the rally, a rattled Imran Khan had warned that police cases would be launched against the organisers of the event.
"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 PDM has held five similar rallies in Peshawar, Gujranwala, Karachi, Quetta and Multan since October 16.
