Lahore (Web Desk): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally in Lahore plunged into darkness as all lights at the Kahna venue were turned off while the Lahore police took control of the stage and turned off the microphone.
Footages showed PTI supporters and leaders clearing the stage, leaving it empty.
Earlier, supporters took out their cellphones and used them to light up the rally venue while the party announced on its YouTube livestream that even the sound system was turned off due to the conditions of the no-objection certificate.
According to reports, Lahore deputy commissioner ordered the jalsa administration to end the public gathering immediately as the allocated 6pm deadline ended.
Addressing the charged participants, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said that his party would not accept anything other than independent judiciary.
Congratulating the PTI Lahore chapter for organising such a ‘huge rally’, Barrister Gohar said and urged the Punjab authorities to refrain from creating obstacles for party workers and open the roads leading to Lahore and the venue.
Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Omar Ayub could not arrive at the venue by the time of the deadline’s expiry and reached later.
Videos shared by the PTI Lahore account purportedly showed its leaders and workers heading from various areas of Punjab and KP to Lahore.
However, it claimed that the Rajana interchange was blocked off to traffic.
On the other hand, the government has termed the PTI rally as flop show.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar has said the people have rejected the public gathering of PTI in Lahore.
In his televised remarks on Saturday, the minister said the PTI leaders had made big claims regarding this gathering but all of them fell flat.
He said the government provided free hand and kept the routes and access to the public gathering open, in addition to providing security, but the party failed to assemble the public.
The information minister said that there was no clear rationale or narrative behind this gathering.
Tarar said the inflation has come down to the single digit and the world institutions are saying that Pakistan's economy is taking off.
He said Pakistan’s Stock Market is being dubbed as the best performing market in Asia. He pointed out that exports have witnessed a growth of 14% and policy rate has also been reduced, which will help attract investment in the country.
He said both the federal and Punjab governments have provided subsidy to the consumers on electricity.
Tarar said that the PTI's intent is only to incite anarchy in the country and impede the process of development.
The information minister, however, expressed the government's firm determination to develop a strong, stable and peaceful Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Punjab ministers have stated that the people of Pakistan have rejected PTI by boycotting its rally in Lahore.
In a joint press conference on Saturday, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari, Health Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir and Law Minister Sohaib Barath declared that the PTI’s inability to gather a large crowd in Lahore exposed the party’s diminishing influence.
Azma Bukhari emphasized that the Punjab government ensured that no roads were blocked and that all entry points to the city, including Shahdara, Thokar Niaz Baig, and the Ring Road, remained open.
She claimed that fewer than 3,000 people attended the rally from across the country, which highlighted the public’s disinterest in PTI’s politics.
The minister also accused PTI of using Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s resources for political activities in Punjab and criticized KP Chief Minister Ali Ameen Gandapur for prioritizing political gatherings over public service.
Bukhari alleged that the PTI government in KP had failed to address the needs of its people and was wasting resources on rallies.
She expressed gratitude to the people of Punjab and Lahore for rejecting PTI’s “agenda of unrest” and supporting the current government’s performance.
Addressing the PTI founder, Bukhari claimed that Khan is attempting to seek an NRO through his rallies, particularly concerning the 190 million pound case and the Toshakhana case.
She refuted PTI’s allegations that the government obstructed the rally, saying the containers used by PTI had gotten stuck under bridges due to their own mismanagement.
Health Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir echoed these sentiments, stating that the people have recognized the negative politics of the PTI.
He highlighted Punjab’s advancements in healthcare, including the establishment of hospitals that have attracted patients from KPK, and credited Punjab’s Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif for her dedication to public service, including the recent launch of a pediatric cardiac program.
Punjab Law Minister Sohaib Barath criticized PTI leaders for using infrastructure built by the PML-N, such as the Motorway, while accusing the opposition party of failing to provide for its own constituency.
He stressed that the public can no longer be deceived by empty slogans and demanded that PTI show tangible results for its governance.
The ministers concluded by asserting that PTI’s sole agenda is to destabilize the country, while the PML-N remains focused on progress and public welfare.