PML-N stages power show in Lahore against Shahbaz’s arrest

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Punjab staged a power show in the provincial capital on Saturday and its leaders severely criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government over its ‘revenge policy’ against the opposition parties.

Various party leaders, addressing a protest rally at the Temple Road here, termed the arrest of party president Shahbaz Sharif over money-laundering charges sheer political victimisation. Addressing the rally, PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah said all cases against the party leadership were full of lies and demanded transparent elections in the country.

He demanded resignation from Prime Minister Imran Khan, saying those who brought him to power made a mistake. He also clarified that becoming part of reconciliation process did not mean that the PML-N would allow the dignity of vote to be tarnished. The PML-N leader said the PM had been exposed in his attempts to expose the opposition. Imran Khan is blind to corruption of billions of rupees by his own party members, he added.

Rana Sanaullah said a fake case was registered against him but no progress had been made in the case for the last 15 months. “The CNICs [computerised national identity cards] of my family and mine have been blocked for the last two years, while the bank accounts have also been frozen for more than a year and a half,” he added.

Rana Sana said if Lahore wakes up then the entire Pakistan wakes up, and the dictators find no way out to escape. He said Shahbaz Sharif served the people with honesty without caring for his family. He said the government was trying to hide its thuggery by making propaganda against the Sharif family.

The government made tall claims of constructing 5 million houses; PM Imran Khan promised to give millions of jobs, but his policies rendered millions of people jobless. Not a single project was initiated during the last over two years, he claimed.

He said people were installing banners to thank Nawaz Sharif. He said Sukkur-Multan Motorway was complete now but the government was reluctant to inaugurate it. Rana Sana said that the newly formed Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and Mian Nawaz Sharif had decided to send the government packing. The party workers would join political gatherings from across the province in Lahore. As Lahorites will come out, the puppet PM would fled the PM office. Rana Sana said the PML-N would play a vital role in the PDM.

He said the spokespersons for the government, who had been tasked to use abusive language, were creating fuss among the public. He said Mian Nawaz Sharif saluted Pakistan Army and national institutions thrice, but the government was bound to spread fake propaganda. He said the institutions should work under their constitutional limits and it would help bring in prosperity in the country.

Addressing the protestors, former railways minister Khwaja Saad Rafique said the opposition was being pushed to the corner. “We sacrificed our lives for democracy,” he claimed. He said that Nawaz Sharif laid the foundation of modern Pakistan when there was no way out, the opposition parties formed a PDM, the government did not make a single plan for the people, while those who serve the country were being defamed. Khwaja said that false cases had been made against them. Today there was chaos all over the country, the entire opposition was facing political victimisation, he added.

Kh Saad said the PM moves to Nathia Gali instead of taking care of people in trouble. The advisor on National Security gets aid from America, he alleged. He said Hamza Shahbaz has been imprisoned for the last 14 months without any evidence against him. Syed Khurshid Shah has also been imprisoned for a long time. He said the residents of Bani Gala could not spend even a single day in jail.

Former speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said the rally had been organised to give a clear message to NAB-Niazi nexus that their days had been numbered. They should limit their atrocities to an extent that they could also bear the brunt of their excesses. He said Mian Nawaz Sharif had been called a Modi’s friend, while PM Imran Khan wished for Modi’s win. The nation witnessed the decision of Modi and Niazi on Kashmir. Ayaz Sadiq said Modi usurped the right of Kashmiris while the PTI government badly failed to launch diplomatic movement against India. He alleged that Imran Khan had sold Kashmir to India in connivance with Trump and Modi.

He said the PML-N workers and leaders would fully support Mian Nawaz Sharif and would not hesitate to sacrifice their lives. PML-N leader Azma Bukhari said Shahbaz Sharif had been imprisoned over changing old Punjab into modern Punjab. She added incompetent people were trying to compete with him but their incompetence had badly exposed. She pointed out that the PTI was helped to win elections by closing down results transmission system (RTS). She said there were 169 constituencies where the number of rejected votes was high and the PML-N votes were rendered rejected by stamping those twice.

The party activists had started gathering in groups at Regal Chowk on The Mall at 3pm. The Lahore police provided foolproof security cover to the participants. The party workers chanted slogans in favour of their leaders. They also chanted slogans against the PTI government.

At least 1400 cops were deployed under the supervision of one SP and 15 SHOs, and 6 DSPs. Special branch cleared the venue before the arrival of protestors. The protest demonstration remained peaceful.

Meanwhile, the stage collapsed during the PML-N’s protest due to overcrowding. Party leaders had used a wooden truck to address the protesters. When PML-N leader and former railway minister Khwaja Saad Rafique was delivering his address, the wooden stage fell down. Rana Mashhood and other PML-N leaders were also present on the stage at the time of incident.