Staff Reporter
Lahore
The chief of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Maulana Fazlur Rehman, addressed the protest rally on Sunday. He announced they would march to Islamabad with their resignations in their hands by late January or early February.
On arrival at the venue, PDM leaders Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Maryam Nawaz, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari along with others were greeted by enthusiastic supporters who had gathered at Minar-i-Pakistan during the day.
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman cautioned that growing resentment and anger of the people against the “illegitimate government” can lead to anarchy in the country.
He urged the establishment to stop meddling in the political affairs of the country and let the people choose their leaders to govern the country. “If people’s rights are continued to be abrogated then the national unity cannot remain intact,” he warned.
“Imran Khan’s government has weakened the country so much that we could not even protect Kashmir,” he lamented. “We need to save country from the slavery of international establishment.”
He said: “The wounds inflicted by the rigging done by the establishment for this illegal government, the dirty role they played [to sieze] this illegal power are getting deeper.”
Rehman further said that he wanted to “alert and caution the defence forces and their leadership […] to move out of the people’s way and let them reach Islamabad”.
“In the coming days, I see anarchy in the country. We should handle matters before heading towards anarchy,” he said. The PDM chief vowed that the government “will be of the people”. “This system of rigging will no longer work.”
He said the entire movement is aimed at securing stability for Pakistan. “Let us all make a vow today. We must keep our land free,” he said to the crowd. “And like a free nation, we have to forge our own identity.”
“Today the poor are unemployed and inflation has broken the back of the people,” he said, adding that the youth to whom golden dreams were shown have no source of income today.
Taking the prime minister to task, he said: “When he was staging sit-ins he had benefactors and now that he is in the government, it is because he was brought here.” He also promised freedom of speech and protection of media, and the eradicaiton of terrorism.
Earlier, Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, addressing the rally, said that the fake government came into power on the instructions of umpire’s finger and the PDM is challenging the facilitators of the puppet government to give people their right.
He said that he was very happy to address the heart of Punjab in Lahore and late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto founded his party from this city.
Bilawal said, “We will march towards Islamabad and demand the resignation of the selected and incompetent prime minister, adding that no one can divide the joint opposition. We will drive out the puppet government.”
“Selectors, listen clearly, you will have to listen to the public’s voice, you will have to accept their decision […] the time for dialogue is gone, now
there will be a long march,” the PPP chairman said.
He went on to say that stop making phone calls and stop trying to establish contacts as no differences can divide the joint opposition. The dialogues will only be held once the PDM chased the puppet out, he said.
Bilawal further said that the opposition want to give the people back the right to rule, adding that this is not a war for power but a war to provide bread, cloth and shelter (roti, kapra aur makan) to the poor and this war is a war for all, including the youth and the workers. “We [Opposition parties] have put aside political differences and are standing together on the platform of PDM.”
“Punjab’s pag (turban) is on the head of the puppet of a puppet. Is this acceptable to Punjab?” he asked, adding that he neither accepted the prime minister nor his chief minister. He insisted that the PDM’s “war is not for power but for the rights” of the people.
The PPP chief said that non-democratic forces termed as the establishment, which he refers to as the selectors, “have been conspiring against you (public) and have been forming governments of their choice”. He said that the incumbent government was brought to power “through the umpire’s signal”.
Pakistan Muslim League-N vice president Maryam Nawaz thanked Lahore’s residents for attending the public meeting in overwhelming numbers. Without naming the prime minister, Maryam said that someone had “challenged PDM in Pharoah’s tone” to gather enough people to fill up Minar-i-Pakistan’s grounds, adding that today, participants of the public meeting had filled up adjoining streets as well.
She said that thousands of people couldn’t find place at the Minar-e-Pakistan, adding that even entire areas surrounding the venue is full. The PML-N vice president while appealing the public to use face masks to avoid coronavirus said that the government is more dangerous than the coronavirus.
Maryam said that Imran Khan, who used to say that he would not give NRO for three years, was now asking for NRO today but now Nawaz Sharif would not give NRO to those who were stealing bread and snatching the development of the people.
Referring to a gathering held by the PTI at Minar-i-Pakistan in 2011, Maryam alleged that the public meeting had been arranged by former ISI chief Shuja Pasha.
Maryam also spoke about the Panama Papers case and alleged that former chief justice had told the incumbent prime minister to file an application “after which you (Imran) ousted Nawaz Sharif on the basis of an iqama through a fixed match”.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan’s Awais Noorani, who was the first to address the people, told Prime Minister Imran Khan to submit his resignation and called upon PTI supporters to “rebel” against the ruling party.
Awami National Party Ameer Haider Khan Hoti also condemned the ruling PTI and said that about 80 years ago, Bacha Khan had started a non-violent struggle for his nation’s rights but he was termed as a traitor.
Hoti declared that terrorism was “imposed upon the Pakhtun people” saying, “Pakhtun people were the ones who were killed and were defamed as well”. He added that there were “conspiracies” to lead Afghan peace talks towards failure and efforts to “create misunderstandings between Afghanistan and Pakistan”.
Balochistan National Party-Mengal’s Sardar Akhtar Mengal started off his address by saying that the PDM public meetings were “funeral prayers of the dictators and the powers who, for 70 years, have treated the country’s Constitution as their slave”.
Qaumi Watan Party leader Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao appreciated the political supporters and activists for attending the anti-government gathering in “huge numbers” despite all hurdles.
He said the government’s strong-arm tactics cannot stop people from attending PDM rallies. “We cannot accept the government which was formed through rigged elections and we want all institutions to work within their constitutional limits.”
