Rising inflation: PDM to launch protests, rallies from tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on Monday decided to launch countrywide protest demonstrations and rallies from Wednesday (tomorrow) against the government for rising inflation.

PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman told a news conference that besides the rising inflation, a PDM meeting also discussed issues of Electronic Voting Machines and NAB (Second Amendment) Ordinance.

PMLN Quaid Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz attended the meeting through video link. PMLN President Shehbaz Sharif and other PDM leaders also attended the meeting. Fazlur Rehman said the PDM leadership categorically rejected the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Second Amendment Ordinance.

The PDM chief said that the NAB ordinance itself was dictatorship’s remains and the same was being used for political revenge and, therefore, no one could expect fair accountability by the NAB.

On electoral reforms, he said the use of EVMs was another name of RTS that was used to steal the 2018 general elections. “No one can expect electoral reforms for fair elections from a government which itself assumed power as a result of rigged polls,” he said, adding that the incumbent government had no right to give election laws to the country.

Fazlur Rehman said there was no need for local bodies’ elections, rather, the opposition wanted fresh elections in the country. He said rallies and protest demonstrations would be held in every district of the country, adding that the option of long march towards Islamabad was also under consideration. “There will be shutter-down strikes and we will move step by step towards a long march,” he said.