All democratic forces on ‘same stage, same page’ today: Bilawal

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto on Friday said democratic political parties of the country were on the "same stage and the same page" today as his party geared up to participate in the first protest by the newly-formed Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Led by JUI-F Chairman Fazlur Rehman, PDM consists of more than 10 parties including PML-N, PPP and ANP. The first rally of the new political platform will be held today at Jinnah Stadium in Gujranwala.

"I will be leading PPP's convoy to the PDM rally. We will ensure that this 'selected regime' hears the voice of the people of Gujranwala," said the PPP chairperson. 

"Imran Khan, who at the peak of the coronavirus crisis was against lockdown, is today worried about the spread of coronavirus," said the party chairperson. Bilawal added that he is hopeful that the entire nation will see that Imran Khan is "not worth it," adding that everyone will realise that Pakistan is on one side and "the man sitting in Islamabad is on the other side".

Bilawal further claimed that the Parliament session which was scheduled to be held on October 19 was called today in order to try and affect the PDM's rally. He said the opposition would hold "fair elections" if Prime Minister Imran Khan stepped down.

The party chairperson also warned of rigging in Gilgit-Baltistan's upcoming elections and said it is a national security threat as it serves as the gateway of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

"We will not compromise on the national security of the country," he said.

Bilawal promised to monitor the elections himself and stated that if the masses are ignored, the party will stage a sit-in alongside the citizens of the region to protest.

Despite the PDM being given the nod to stage its grand show today, the government was apparently engaged in efforts to curtail the influx of opposition activists workers to Gujranwala.

Since late October 14, vehicles had been parked on roads leading to Gujranwala and on the thoroughfares in Lahore that were likely to be used as roadblocks.

Police were reportedly arresting opposition activists across Punjab. The three main opposition parties, the PML-N, the PPP and the JUI-F, lodged their protest against arrests of their activists.

A list of around 800 PML-N activists from Lahore has been circulating on social media. The list identifies the activists as miscreants, indicating that they might be arrested.

Furthermore, transporters had been strictly instructed not to rent out their vehicles to political parties.