PML-N flips strategy, observes hunger strike

Leadership says protest is against price hike, growing joblessness

LAHORE:

In a rapidly-changing political scenario, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that earlier this week was against agitations owing to the coronavirus situation held a token hunger strike in the metropolis by setting up nearly a dozen camps to protest against the hike in fuel prices.

The PML-N Lahore chapter had set up camps throughout the city to observe a token hunger strike from 2:00pm to 4:00pm to protest against price hike and growing joblessness in the country. The camps had moderate to thin presence of workers.

The decision to set up camps was, however, a complete about-turn from the party’s earlier position. Earlier this week, PML-N Punjab Chapter President Rana Sanaullah, speaking to The Express Tribune, said they realised the decision to raise fuel price had left the people in severe agony, but given the Covid-19 situation, they could not physically launch a protest movement endangering lives of people.

He said they would only protest against the government in assemblies. However, within two days of this position, PML-N Lahore on Wednesday announced their decision to proceed ahead with setting up hunger strike camps.

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PML-N’s Azma Bukhari said there was a lot of public pressure which forced the party to protest against the government. She said people were critical of the party’s decision of not protesting and termed it criminal silence. Bukhari was of the view that respecting the public sentiment, this decision was taken by her party.

She said that this was thus far a one-off activity. She said that the party will decide later on any further activity in this regard.

Regarding the opposition APC and the PPP chairperson’s presence in Lahore, she said that since Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif was in quarantine, the date of the APC could not be decided as yet. Furthermore, she said that to her knowledge, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had no plans of meeting any of the PML-N leaders.

Former minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, talking to the media, said Prime Minister Imran Khan and his team’s worst performance has brought them to “a point of no return”.

“We are against minus-one formula, but if Khan himself speaks about minus-one formula then it means something is cooking,” he remarked.

He said the sham democracy under PM Khan’s rule has burdened people with back-breaking inflation and price hike. “Khan has destroyed the economy of the country.”

Pharmacists end hunger strike​​​​​​​

Raffique said the minister for aviation had ridiculed Pakistan before the entire world and badly damaged the national airline by questioning the credibility of its pilots.

Degrees of some pilots might be fake but that does not mean, one starts making hue and cry over it, he said. He claimed that the PTI lawmakers are themselves tired of their government. He said that each day Pakistan is inflicted with a loss under the incompetent government and the time has come to put an end to it.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2020.