Islamabad: The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and the main opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) are at loggerheads regarding the opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) proposed rally of December 13 and while one is using all resources including media campaign to make it an example of classic failure, the other is trying its best to turn it into a huge success.
Prime Minister Imran Khan made it clear the government would not allow the opposition parties to spread coronavirus through its rally and the organizers as well as vendors (catering service, etc) would have to face serious consequences.
“We would not stop them (the leaders of the PDM) lest they should take political advantage and paint themselves as political martyrs but we will file cases against everyone — from the kursi wala to the sound system handlers,” said the prime minister.
Show of power
Meanwhile, despite the Lahore district administration’s refusal to grant permission for public meetings on the pretext of a second wave of coronavirus, the PML-N leaders are organizing corner meetings and workers convention in every nook and corner of the city to ensure maximum gathering in the PDM show of power for next Sunday.
Maryam Nawaz, daughter of the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and vice president of the party herself is leading this mass contact campaign.
On Sunday she addressed a social media convention of the PML-N in Lahore and criticized the government for not delivering on its promises.
While recalling some of the promises of the PTI government like provision of jobs and employment opportunities and easy access to low-price food and other items of daily use, Nawaz said none of those promises had been fulfilled.
In the PTI government’s two-and-a-half year tenure, neither any hospital has been constructed nor a mega project of public welfare is launched, she claimed.
“Thanks to our social media team, Nawaz Sharif’s voice has reached across the country today,” Maryam said, paying tribute to teams from across the provinces.
Intimidated by threats
She asked the PML-N members of the Parliament and the workers not to be intimidated by threats of police cases. They are the testimony that the ‘selected’ government has lost all the moral, legal and political right to continue and the sooner it goes, the better.
Information Minister Shibli Faraz while reacting to Nawaz’ address regretted that the opposition parties were using the public as firewood only to serve their end.
In Peshawar and Multan, after the PDM’s rallies, the number of coronavirus cases and deaths due to COVID-1 has increased rapidly.
Such gatherings are meant only to violate the law and the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Coronavirus, he said in a tweet.
