Sharifs counter negative perception by holding Mehfil-e-Milad

PML-N govt was under pressure following the controversy surrounding an 'amendment' to the Elections Act 2017

LAHORE: The Sharif brothers, who faced a dressing down at the hands of right-wingers over altering the Khatm-e-Nabuwwat clause, have found in Eid Mildun Nabi (SWA) a way to show their respect and love for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) by holding Mehfil-e-Milad.

Moreover, to dispel misconceptions, if any, the Sharif brothers held Mehfil-e-Milad at their respective residences – one at Jati Umra and the other at Model Town.

The PML-N government was under pressure following the controversy surrounding an 'amendment' to the Elections Act 2017 which ended up affecting a Khatm-i-Nabuwwat (the Finality of the Prophethood) declaration public office-holders are required to make.

Islamabad was on lockdown for nearly three weeks after supporters of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik converged on the federal capital, demanding the government to sack Law Minister Zahid Hamid and punish the culprits behind the move.



Eventually, Hamid had to resign after the government accepted most of their major demands under an army-brokered agreement.

A similar sit-in was held on The Mall that ended on 12th Rabiul Awwal after Shehbaz-led Punjab government finally arrived at an agreement with the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah faction led by Dr Ashraf Asif Jalali.

The Mehfil-e-Milad at Jati Umra was kept private and attended by Nawaz Sharif and his coterie including his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif.

The one held at Model Town by the Punjab chief minister was attended by federal and provincial ministers, parliamentarians, lord mayor and deputy mayor Lahore, office-bearers of local governments, leaders and workers of the PML-N, religious leaders and people belonging to various walks of life.



The government took pains to ensure that the media extensively covered the event.

According to the inner circles of the Sharifs, one of the main purposes of holding the gatherings was to restore the party’s image in religious circles, adding till it was a routine practice to hold Mehfil-e-Milad till the death of patriarch Mian Sharif.

“After his death, the practice was discontinued until this year.”

They said the Punjab government got all public offices illuminated and decorated to give a message that it accorded importance to the occasion.