PML-N activists protest outside Jemima’s house

LONDON: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has said it will stage dherna (sit-in) outside the house of Jemima Goldsmith in Richmond if Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) protested outside the residence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s son Hasan Nawaz who lives near Park Lane.

Nearly 300 activists of PML-N gathered outside Jemima Goldsmith’s home here on Sunday in response to PTI’s protest outside Hasan Nawaz’s flat four days earlier. Around 130 PTI protestors had gathered from across the UK for a two hours long noisy protest against PM Nawaz Sharif, who is currently in London for the open heart surgery on Tuesday.

The Sunday’s demonstration was led by PMLN-UK leader Zubair Gull. PMLN activists came in coaches from Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester, carrying banners against PTI leader Imran Khan and accusing him of “bringing negative politics to the UK”. PMLN activists chanted slogans in support of Nawaz Sharif and said that they will reply in the same coin if their leader is

Zubair Gull alleged that Imran Khan has lots of questions to answer about his own offshore company ‘Niazi Services Limited’ which he tried to hide but was exposed.

He said that Imran Khan must explain why he didn’t declare his offshore company until he was forced to. He alleged that PTI was involved in using the charitable money – raised in the name of Shaukat Khanum Hospital and Namal College – for political purposes and offshore investments, secretly. He said that overseas Pakistanis have a right to raise voice against the fiddling of funds because this money is being used to seek political office by Imran Khan.

PMLN presented a memorandum to Lady Annabel Goldsmith stating that the PML-N activists had gathered for “peaceful protest against Mr. Imran Khan and his instruction to his party in the UK to demonstrate outside our party leaders family and private residence”.

It added: “Despite numerous attempts to stop this type of gutter politics, our voices have fallen on deaf ears. Mr. Imran Khan has so far instructed seven demonstrations outside the family residence of our Party Leader and Prime Minister of Pakistan, with the latest one taking place as recently as Wednesday 25th May, where insults and vulgarism were voiced and media reports suggested journalists were insulted and attacked.

“We are not at all happy or comfortable with the type of politics Mr. Khan has instigated in the UK. He has directly involved family members namely the children of our Party Leader who have nothing to do with the politics of their father.  Similarly Mr. Khan has forced us to take a position against our political norm and demonstrate outside the residence of his children and the place where he resides when visiting the UK.

“We understand that it is everyone’s democratic right to peacefully protest especially that of opposition parties. However, to involve family members and children falls well below the standards expected of people who hold positions of leadership. Whilst this may sound contrary to our actions of demonstrating here today, it is as a result of extreme provocation by Mr. Khan and his party workers.”

The letter, handed in by Zubair Gull, hoped that Imran Khan begins to see “sense and ceases any such future demonstrations. Otherwise this unfortunate state of affairs will continue. We regret having to inconvenience you and this neighborhood again but we have been forced to take this Newtonian action to show Mr. Khan that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”.