Monitoring Desk:
Police in Sialkot stopped Pakistan Tehrik e Insaf (PTI) workers from making arrangements for the public meeting on Saturday morning. Police arrested Usman Dar, a leader of the PTI and social media chief, and other workers on the spot.
The rally — in which PTI chairman Imran Khan was to deliver a speech as part of his series of jalsas culminating in the party’s “Azadi March” on Islamabad — was held later in the day.
Television footage showed police personnel at the venue, like people, some with PTI flags around their necks standing atop a crane in what appeared to be an attempt to prevent it from dismantling structures erected in preparation for the rally. Clouds of tear gas could also be seen in the footage.
Sialkot District Police Officer (DPO) Hasan Iqbal, present at the site, told reporters that the local Christian community had objected to holding a rally at the ground, saying that it was their property.