Khattak says PTI Nowshera rally postponed over coronavirus

NOWSHERA: Federal Minister for Defence Pervez Khattak on Tuesday requested the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to postpone its public meeting planned in Peshawar for November 22 due to a spike in coronavirus cases.

“We have put off the public meeting which was to be held in Nowshera on November 21 and to be addressed by Prime Minister Imran Khan due to the Covid-19 rising cases. The PDM should act responsibly and postpone its gathering in Peshawar slated for November 22,” he said while talking to the media. It may be mentioned here that the opposition’s 11 political parties, which are part of the PDM alliance, have announced to arrange a huge public meeting in Peshawar on November 22 as part of the anti-government campaign. The PDM had already held massive public meetings in Gujranwala, Karachi and Quetta. Pervez Khattak said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would reschedule the public meeting in Nowshera and give a date for that only if there was a cut in the coronavirus cases. He expressed gratitude to the local organisations of the PTI in two National Assembly, five KP Assembly constituencies and at tehsil and union levels for making great efforts for making the PTI public, which has been put off, a success. The federal minister advised the opposition parties to accept the results of the election in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). He said there was no reason for raising transparency concerns over the election process. He believed that the opposition political parties by alleging rigging in the GB recent election were, in fact, trying to regain the respect they had lost by not serving the people in the region whey they were in power. Pervez Khattak said the people of GB had rejected the opposition parties in the ballot and reposed confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the ruling PTI.

LOCKDOWN: The Nowshera district administration on Tuesday decided to go for a smart lockdown in various areas keeping in view the rise in the Covid-19 cases during the second wave of the viral infection. An official statement issued by Deputy Commissioner Mir Raza Ozgan said coronavirus cases were reported from Government Higher Secondary School, Pir Sabaq, Govt Primary School Dhobi Ghaat, Nowshera Cantt, Namal Bala, Zareen Khan House, Hakeemabad, Mohallah Qazian Khweri in Rashakai, Amiro Kilay in Nizampur, Alibegkhel in Nizampur. The official said these areas and localities had been placed under a smart lockdown to stem the spread of the virus.