Nawaz to address Oct 25 rally in Quetta

This time Bilawal may skip PDM event due to his election campaign in GB

LAHORE:

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was conspicuous by his absence from opposition’s October 18 rally in Karachi, will address the Quetta rally scheduled for October 25 under the auspices of the newly formed opposition alliance – the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Interestingly, this time PPP Chairman Biliawal Bhutto Zardari is likely to skip the rally due to his party’s election campaign in Gilgit Baltistan (GB). However, he is expected to attend the event virtually.

Talking to The Express Tribune, PML-N senior leader Pervaiz Rashid said Nawaz Sharif will address the PDM power show in Quetta. He rebuffed the rumours that the former premier, who has been in London since November 2019, was asked not to speak at the Oct 18 event by the PPP, which hosted the rally.

“Sharif had addressed the first PDM rally in Gujranwala, just two days prior to the Karachi rally. His speech would have been a repetition of the Gujranwala speech. Therefore, it had been decided before the rally that the former premier won’t address the Karachi rally.

“Moreover, his speech was a hard hitting one. So we thought some break would be better,” he added.

At the Gujranwala rally, the former premier had criticized the military establishment for interfering in the political affairs of the country and categorically accused the army chief for bringing the ‘incompetent’ government of Prime Minister Imran Khan through allegedly rigged election in 2018.

He said according to PPP leader Sherry Rehman, Bilawal would try his best to participate in the Quetta rally. He will try and take a flight from GB to Quetta, if possible, he quoted Sherry as saying.

Rashid said there was nothing odd in the PPP chairman attending his party’s election campaign in GB. He said Bilawal’s presence in GB would help spread the PDM’s message there. He denied speculations about any rift in the PDM, especially between the PPP and the PML-N.