The General Headquarters (GHQ) informed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday that it had no objections to a helicopter landing and taking off at Parade Ground so that PTI leader Imran Khan could travel from Lahore to Islamabad for the rally on November 26. However, the General Headquarters (GHQ) advised PTI to contact the Capital Development Authority (CDA) or the federal government as the ground was under their control.
The letter of no objection, which was sent to PTI’s Additional General Secretary Omar Ayub, was written by Lieutenant Colonel Rao Farman Ali and stated that the general headquarters “had no objection to the proposal for placement of helicopter subject to clearance by competent authorities.”
The Capital Development Authority and the Federal Government may be contacted as the Parade Ground is within their purview, the GHQ letter added.
The CDA, Inspector General of Police, Chief Commissioner of Islamabad, Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, City Police Officer of Rawalpindi, and Military Operation Directorate all received copies of the letter for their records.
The PTI wrote the letter after asking for permission to utilise Parade Ground so that a helicopter could take the PTI leader from Lahore to the Capital for the party’s gathering there on November 26.
بغیر روح کے جسم اور بغیر آزادی کے قوم
ہر دو کی حیثیت دھرتی پر بوجھ سے زیادہ کچھ نہیں، نکلو حقیقی آزادی کی خاطر#ملتے_ہیں_پنڈی_میں pic.twitter.com/8MLNEf3rS5
— PTI (@PTIofficial) November 24, 2022
Before the district administration, PTI President Islamabad Ali Nawaz Awan had requested permission for the PTI’s public assembly in Faizabad. Additionally, he requested permission from the capital administration so that Imran’s chopper could land and take off from Parade Ground.
The PTI Secretary General Asad Umar was warned by the Ministry of Interior on Wednesday about security threats against the party and its leader and requested to postpone public gatherings for the ongoing “Haqeeqi Azadi March.”
Read More: Final stage of PTI long march arrives
The ministry said in a letter that the PTI leadership “may keep in view the security scenario currently prevailing in the country and may explore the possibility of postponing public meetings like the one planned in Rawalpindi on November 26 to avoid any untoward occurrence.”
The Ministry of Interior maintained that it had been “sharing threat alerts generated by credible intelligence sources to the life” of PTI chief Imran Khan by “anti-state elements” that wanted to destabilise the country.
The attack in Wazirabad, which left former premier Imran wounded, was also noted as having demonstrated the significance of treating danger signals seriously, especially as the march resumes.
In response to the threats, the federal government allegedly sent a bulletproof car, as well as police and civil armed personnel, for Imran to use while he was in Islamabad. The party leader was currently in Lahore, and the marchers had relocated to Rawat.