Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers and leaders blasted the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on Sunday, with one of them even dubbing the 11-party opposition alliance "anti-state" while addressing a rally held to express solidarity with the Pakistan Army.
The ruling party in the Centre organised the rally in reaction to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz lawmaker Ayaz Sadiq's speech in the National Assembly on October 28, when he claimed that captured Indian pilot Abhinandan Vartaman had been released because the PTI government feared an attack from India.
Speaking at the rally, Sindh Assembly opposition leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi compared Sadiq to Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq - two individuals often alluded to as traitors in the subcontinent's history.
"Today's rally is a message for India, making it evident that the 220 million population [of Pakistan] stands with the army," he remarked, adding that India was "celebrating statements by a watan farosh [sellout]." Naqvi added that Pakistanis were living freely due to sacrifices rendered by its armed forces and the Pakistan Army had always performed brave feats and defeated the enemy.
He further said the PTI government was committed to putting Pakistan on the road to development and improving its economy.
Reiterating Naqvi's words, PTI Karachi president Khurram Sher Zaman said the PDM, by criticising the army, was in fact proving itself as Pakistan's enemy. "It will meet its end soon and the entire nationa will witness the spectacle."
Referring to Prime Minister Imran Khan's promises of turning Pakistan into a Madina-like Islamic welfare state, he said the PM had laid down the foundation for this.
PTI MNA Aftab Siddiqui, too, said Sadiq had proved himself an enemy of the country by speaking against its defenders.
"India has been celebrating the statement but [today], the nation has given a strong reply to both by coming out to express solidarity with Pakistan's armed forces," he remarked. "Let all of Pakistan's enemies know that the more they try to divide it, more powerful it becomes."
He added, "The PDM is not an anti-government movement, but an anti-state movement," claiming that its rallies echoed with voices calling for breaking the country apart, but none of its leaders condemned them.
On the PM, Siddiqui asserted that he had proved to be a great leader not just for Pakistan, but for the entire Muslim community by raising his voice about atrocities in Illegally Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir first and then on sketches of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in France.
The procession began from Mazar-e-Quaid and culminated at Teen Talwar, with participants shouting slogans such as 'Long Live Pakistan Army.'
Published in The Express Tribune, November 2nd, 2020.
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