Maryam to initiate ‘Mehangai March’ in tandem with PDM’s rallies

ISLAMABAD: The PML-N is preparing a schedule for ‘Mehangai March’ in which party’s vice president Maryam Nawaz will address mass gatherings in major cities of Punjab, sources told The News here Wednesday.

The sources in the PML-N revealed that many elected members of the party have offered to arrange mass gatherings for this ‘Mehangai March’ in their respective constituencies but the party is yet to decide the venues for this political event. They said the PDM is also planning to hold seven public rallies across the country due to which the PML-N has not yet announced the schedule of the ‘Mehangai March’.

“There is a proposal to hold public rallies from the platform of the PDM on December 29, January 2, January 12, January 16, January 19, January 23 and January 26. The PDM leadership including Maryam Nawaz will participate in these rallies so the PML-N wants to avoid any clash in dates of ‘Mehangai March’ and these public rallies,” the sources said.

They said the mainstream PML-N leaders would also become part of the ‘Mehangai March’ including Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal, Marriyum Aurangzeb and Attaullah Tarar.

The sources said the PDM leadership has also decided that the political parties that are part of this alliance may also hold mass gatherings on their own and the ‘Mehangai March’ of Maryam Nawaz would be held in line with this decision. “Maryam will address the party workers in major cities of the Punjab and mobilise them for upcoming long march towards Islamabad. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has also approved this suggestion and given go ahead to the party in this connection,” the sources said. The sources said it is yet to be decided whether Nawaz Sharif would address these mass gatherings or not because he has not yet shown availability due to his ongoing medical treatment.

When contacted, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told The News that “Maryam will initiate ‘Mehangai March’ to mobilise the people at the grassroots level and prepare them for upcoming long march of the PDM”. “The leadership of PDM has decided that the opposition parties would launch mass contact campaign in all the four provinces and register their protest especially against price hike and fast declining national economy,” he added. To a question, he said “The party will finalise the schedule of ‘Mehangai March’ and Maryam will follow it accordingly”.