PML-N to prepare on call ‘force’ for protests

LAHORE:

Anticipating the arrest of their central leader Maryam Nawaz in near future, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has instructed party leaders of Lahore district to prepare an on-call force of around 6000 workers, which can be assembled on a short notice for protests, The Express Tribune has learnt.

A meeting was held at central party secretariat in Lahore on Tuesday, which was presided over by Saira Afzal Tarrar.

The meeting was meant to prepare for Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) final power show in the provincial capital.

Majority of the leaders from Lahore participated apart from four MPAs and a few MNAs.

The PML-N said that MNAs who were not present in the meeting had sent their representatives while the absentee MPAs had neither sent their representatives nor informed party leadership about the reason of being away.

It was said that they would be asked to explain the reason of their absence from the meeting.

During the meeting, party leaders were asked to prepare for an on-call force of workers who could be assembled at a short notice for the purpose of launching protests.

According to the details, though disputed by a party MNA present in the meeting, each MNA, MPA and ticket holder had been asked to get 200 workers registered while each woman MPA is required to get 20 workers registered.

The main purpose of creating this force is to get a strong protest registered in case of Maryam Nawaz’s arrest.

A party leader said that they would not call this team of workers a force and revealed that a standard operating procedure would be devised for this team of workers in near future.

The leader said this team could be used for the purposes of protest and Lahore political power show later on. 

Nawaz league MNA Waheed Alam Khan maintained that the PML-N had instructed its 400 workers in total per National Assembly constituency with two provincial assembly constituencies under it.

Those National Assembly seats with three provincial assembly seats in it, will get 600 people registered, he said.

On the other hand, the political activities of the opposition parties especially of the PML-N in Punjab were in full swing to ensure the success of the PDM’s October 16 Gujranwala rally.

Nawaz league senior leader Khurram Dastagir noted that they had called a meeting of member parties of PDM in Gujranwala, which would either be held on Wednesday or on Thursday to discuss the arrangements for the rally.

He observed the political gathering of October 16 was planned by the PML-N, which was later converted to a PDM rally by the Rehbar Committee, and added that the other opposition parties would also pitch in their support to make it an even bigger power show.

Dastagir pointed out that Gujranwala was among those few districts where PML-N had made clean sweeps in the past.

“All six National Assembly seats and all 14 Punjab Assembly seats are with the PML-N. Gujranwala will turn out in large numbers to attend the rally,” he said.

The PML-N leader said that the district administration had not yet approved their request for holding a gathering at Jinnah Stadium, which is why they could not confirm the venue of the rally.

“It would either be Jinnah Stadium or near the GT Road.”

He reminded that in August 2018, the PML-N Gujranwala had warmly welcomed the then deposed premier Nawaz Sharif on GT Road Gujranwala, where more than a hundred thousand party workers gathered to greet their leader, who was on his way to Lahore from Islamabad.

Meanwhile, meetings were held in Gujrawala Division to prepare for the opposition party’s power show on October 16.

Pakistan People Party Punjab also held a meeting of party’s district heads, divisional heads and other party office bearers in Lala Musa to prepare for Gujranwala rally.

Qamar Zaman Kaira said that they would decide to hold their three-day mobilisation campaign from Oct 10 to 12.

He said under his lead, PPP will hold meetings in several districts of Punjab and that they would bring a sizeable strength to the Gujranwala rally.