On Monday, less than a week before the PTI's much-anticipated power display on November 24, the Islamabad government enforced Section 144 throughout the capital territory for a period of two months.
A law known as Section 144 gives district administrations the authority to temporarily forbid gatherings of four or more individuals in a given region. According to authorities, a number of prominent PTI leaders were arrested last week for breaking Section 144 outside of Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail but were soon released after receiving a warning.
On November 24, PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan issued a "final call" for protests across the country, condemning the 26th amendment's adoption, which he claimed strengthened a "dictatorial regime," the stolen mandate, and arbitrary arrests.
He urged the nation's citizens to actively participate in the protests, calling them a litmus test for the PTI.
Because the rally and similar gatherings could "threaten public peace and tranquillity, cause public annoyance or injury, endanger human life and safety, pose a threat to public property, and … lead to a riot or an affray including sectarian riot within the revenue/territorial limits of district Islamabad," public gatherings of five or more people are prohibited in the capital.
Furthermore, the notices state that the decision has also outlawed the playing of "all kinds of objectionable/sectarian related speeches and sermons" on sound systems. Likewise, it has been forbidden to use loudspeakers to annoy "political/social groups/religious sects."
Additionally, the district magistrate prohibited the distribution of handbills and pamphlets, the use of firecrackers, and the carrying of firearms by anybody other than law enforcement and security personnel.
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