The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an alliance of 11 opposition parties, is staging a protest outside the Election Commission (ECP) of Pakistan’s office in Islamabad against the delay in the PTI foreign funding case.
Awami National Party’s |(ANP)s Mian Iftikhar Hussain stated that the PDM leaders have chosen to change their route. The protesters will use NADRA chowk instead of Serena Chowk, he said. “We will try our best to end the protest by 5 pm,” he mentioned. “We will protest peacefully and won’t attack the PTV building unlike Imran Khan and his followers.”
JUI-F’s Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri has approached the Election Commission. He said that barriers have been installed in way of rallies making their way to Islamabad. “The decision in the PTI foreign funding case must be given immediately,” he demanded.
Politicians that have reported to gather: PPP Senator Sherry Rehman has reached the residence of Maulana Fazlur Rehman along with Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Sajjad Mir, Mir Kaber, Akhtar Mengal, Akram Khan Durrani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Khurram Dastgir, Captain (retd) Safdar, Pervez Rasheed among others.
PDM gathers outside Election Commission of Pakistan today to remind them that justice delayed is justice denied. Stop delaying the case! the facts are in front of you. PTI is guilty of taking illegal foreign funding. #PDMProtestOutsideECP pic.twitter.com/ejUo9Cm59W
— Atif Rauf (@Atifrauf79) January 19, 2021
Maryam and PPP’s Sherry Rehman earlier tweeted visuals of separate rallies, each being led by captains of the particular parties, moving towards a selected meeting point in the capital from where they went towards the ECP office.
Addressing to reporters ahead of his departure for the PDM demonstration, Rehman stated the PDM initiative was “present and ready to go towards the protest outside the ECP headquarters”.
“The assets covered by the party which describes itself as the ruling party, the foreign funding litigation against it, six years have gone by and around 150 hearings have been held but the government is holding it by constantly filing requests. They have not submitted their documents and hidden assets, they are still trying to hide them,” he said, indicating the PTI.
“The aid that could have been used against Pakistan, against national security — all these [matters] are very important and the PDM has decided to present the problem in the people’s court and protest outside the ECP [and question] why they are delaying [a judgement in the case]”.
Replying to a question, Rehman said that the alliance’s management was “talking very carefully and within the limits of the law and the Constitution”.
He said the PDM would also arrange a protest in Rawalpindi on Feb 5 against the alleged sell-out of Indian-occupied Kashmir and to show solidarity with Kashmiris.
“We are going to Pindi on Feb 5. We will have a big gathering regarding a protest on the sell-out of Kashmir and solidarity with Kashmiris.”
In a statement earlier today, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said that all rallies headed towards the ECP will converge at Kashmir Chowk at 1 pm, requesting party workers and supporters to make their way to the protest.
“The ECP should start writing down its verdict in the foreign funding case, the people are on their way to receive it. The crime has been unearthed and the thief has confessed,” she said, adding that the commission should complete the inquiry.
According to the PDM leadership, they have no plans to stage a sit-in outside the commission’s headquarters and the rally will disperse after two to three hours.
Some small rallies from Rawalpindi and Islamabad will reach Serena Hotel Chowk from where PDM leaders, including Maryam, Rehman and Ashraf will lead the main rally to the ECP headquarters.
After staging a demonstration, the PDM leaders will address a joint press conference.
All main opposition parties are taking part in the rally with the PML-N expected to play a leading role. JUI-F’s Maulana Fazl will also lead from the front with his party taking out two separate rallies. PPP is joining the PDM power show, but its chairman, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, will not be part of it. Instead, other party senior leaders will be seen in the rally.
The foreign funding case against PTI was filed in Nov 2014 by Akbar S Babar, a founding member of the party. He had declared serious financial irregularities in PTI’s accounts.
The allegations made by Babar included illegal sources of funding, concealment of bank accounts in the country and abroad, money laundering, and using private bank accounts of PTI employees as a front to receive illegal donations from the Middle East.
The ECP is expected to hear the funding case against the ruling party on Wednesday.
Security on High Alert as PDM protest outside ECP
The ECP building has been effectively sealed with cement blocks and barbed fence surrounding it, while an increasing number of security personnel have been deployed outside it.
More than a thousand security officials, including police and 300 Rangers personnel, have been deployed outside the ECP headquarters, officials said.
Police said all entry and exit points to the capitals’ Red Zone, which houses high-profile buildings such as the Supreme Court and President House among others, have also been sealed.
Police officials have been instructed not to carry firearms; only Rangers will carry firearms. The Special Branch and the CIA have also been deployed for making arrests.
Meanwhile, the interior ministry also established a control room to monitor the protest.
وزارت داخلہ میں کنٹرول روم قائم.
وزیر داخلہ شیخ رشید کا صورتحال خود مانیٹر کرنے کا فیصلہ. شیخ رشید کا سیکرٹری داخلہ یوسف نسیم کھوکھر کے ہمراہ کنٹرول روم کا دورہ
کنٹرول روم میں سہولیات کا جائزہ لیا. کنٹرول روم سے اسلام آباد کو مانیٹر کیا جائے گا. pic.twitter.com/2WlSgkApcr— Sheikh Rashid Ahmed (@ShkhRasheed) January 19, 2021
‘Green Signal from Shibli’
In the meantime, Information Minister Shibli Faraz said that the government had not placed any obstacles for the opposition’s protest.
“The smooth flow of traffic on the capital’s highways is proof of the premier’s pro-democratic mindset. The nation has not forgotten when the PML-N government targeted PTI protesters during a peaceful demonstration,” he said.
These views were also repeated by Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. On Monday, he said that the government had decided to give a free hand to the PDM to organise a rally in the Red Zone. But he made it clear that nobody would be allowed to take the law into their own hands.
He stated that the PDM should understand that the SC, Parliament House and other institutions were situated on Constitution Avenue and the government had taken all necessary security measures for their protection.
Responding to Aurangzeb’s statement, PTI information secretary Ahmed Jawwad said that the movement which was “rejected by the people has started on the path to fascism”.
“The disappointed and defeated opposition has started threatening the institutions […] First the Supreme Court and accountability courts kept asking them for receipts [of their transactions] and now the ECP is asking them.
“The [PDM’s] attempt to keep dead politics alive through threats and coming down on institutions has not been successful and will not be successful,” he said.
