Official transport brought audience

The official machinery was used openly to bring people to the venue of President General Pervez Musharraf's first mass rally in Lahore yesterday where he kicked off his entry into national political life.

The military regime wanted to show its muscle at Lahore with a public show of strength, intended to demonstrate that the people supported its policies.

The participation of the PML-QA and the Pakistan Awami Tehrik (PAT) of religious leader Tahirul Qadri in the meeting helped swell the ranks of those attending. Several other groups, including the Millat Party and the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf of Imran Khan also took part, though it was the PML-QA and the PAT flags that remained the most obvious at the rally.

Residents of the city, however, had to face lot of hardships for consecutive two days due to the non-availability of public transport, which was impounded by the local administration and the city district government to bring people to the meeting venue and yesterday also by the blockade of many roads by vehicles bringing people to the rally.

Carrying banners, pamphlets and leaflets a large and varied crowd thronged the venue ahead of scheduled time.

While some stated they indeed backed Musharraf, because he was an "honest man", others said they had been "brought" to the venue and appeared perplexed about the content of the speech.

Some stated their main concern was getting home to their villages after the event, with fears voiced that the transport that brought them in to the city may not be available to take them back.

The first few rows of seats at the rally were packed with military men in civilian clothes and bus drivers, some of whom alleged they had been brought into the city for the occasion. All government school teachers had been ordered to attend.

Yaqub Khan said police had brought him from Khushab 210 km away to ferry people to the rally.

"They confiscated the documents for our vehicles and brought us to Lahore," he said. Most the city markets remained closed in the afternoon, with people joining the public meeting and also because of the congestion of traffic.

Hectic preparations by the Punjab administration, supportive political parties and local government leaders elected in grassroots polls held by the regime last year helped bring thousands of people from all over the heartland province to the rally in the provincial capital.

Police and security agencies were on high alert at and around the venue.

Musharraf, who is to address a string of rallies in other provinces ahead of the crucial vote, said the referendum would draw a clear line, with pro-reforms people on one side and opponents on the other.

It had all the atmosphere of an election rally. Large coloured portraits of Musharraf and Governor Punjab Khalid Maqbool were also displayed in and around the venue.

The meeting was also addressed by Lahore Mayor, Mian Amir Mehmood, who had played a considerable part in organising it, and by Punjab Governor, Lt.Gen. (retd.) Khalid Maqbool.

Maqbool, a close aide to Musharraf's, broke away from his role as a traditional military man by delivering a particularly fiery speech, hailing Musharraf's achievements, and in fact showing himself capable of taking on the style and mannerisms of a veteran politician as he took the stage for his impassioned address.

Earlier, Musharraf met a delegation of politicians, most of them pro-government at the governor's house.