PDM's Lahore rally was a 'flop show': Shibli Faraz

Masses have rejected the narrative of the opposition parties, says information minister

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz on Monday termed the opposition's public gathering in Lahore a "flop show" and said the masses have rejected the narrative of the opposition parties.

The information minister said Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leaders were feeling perturbed due to the non-participation of people from Lahore and Punjab.

“Those whose directions are different cannot have the same destination,” the minister remarked.

Shibli also recalled the "poisonous language" used against the armed forces in the Gujranwala rally, the desecration of Quaid-e-Azam's mausoleum before the Karachi rally and the anti-Pakistan narrative used in the Quetta gathering.

The federal minister also regretted that this time, the residents of Lahore were declared traitors at the public gathering held at Minar-e-Pakistan.

"یہ نہ آر ہوئے نہ پار یہ صرف خوار ہوئے" لاہور کا جلسہ ایک فلاپ شو تھا۔عوام نے انہیں انکے بیانیے سمیت مسترد کردیا۔لاہور اور پنجاب کے شہریوں کی عدم شرکت کی وجہ سے پی ڈی ایم رہنماؤں کے چہروں پر ہوائیاں اڑی ہوئی تھیں۔جن کی سمتیں مختلف ہوں انکی منزل ایک نہیں ہو سکتی۔

— Senator Shibli Faraz (@shiblifaraz) December 14, 2020

An adamant opposition held its final showdown at Lahore’s Minar-e-Pakistan on Sunday as the ‘first phase’ of its anti-government campaign, under the 11-party alliance, came to a close.

The public meeting was held despite the PDM leaders being issued security threat alerts as well as being requested by the government to not hold public gatherings as the second Covid-19 wave intensified in the country. Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar warned the opposition of necessary action being taken if laws were violated.

The gathering was addressed by the usual bigwigs of the PDM – its convener and Jamiat Ulema Islam – Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari – besides being addressed by leaders of the opposition parties that are a part of the alliance.

PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif also addressed the rally via video-link from London, where he is receiving medical treatment for his ailment due to which he had left the country last year.

The information minister on Friday had categorically denied contacting the oppostion leadership for any formal talks.

“Any impression regarding contacts with the opposition was totally false,” said the minister while addressing a news conference. He was flanked by Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Ali Amin Gandapur.

The minister was responding to PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz’s claim that “sitting ministers” were contacting the opposition.

She made the statement in a joint news conference with PPP Chairman Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari.

Faraz, however, maintained that the government could have talks with the opposition for discussing political issues and not personal ones like corruption cases.

On the other hand, he said, some opposition parliamentarians, who were being compelled by non-elected persons like Maryam Safdar to tender resignations, were in contact with the government.

Shibli had said some parties in the ‘unnatural alliance’ were looking for a way out, as they realised that PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman with his so-called 'religious cloak' had led them to a blind alley.

The government could help them to come out of the "quagmire", but without giving any NRO to escape from the accountability process for their corruption, he added.

The PDM, he said, would cancel its Lahore gathering if the government agreed to their only one demand of amending the National Accountability Bureau’s laws at the eleventh hour.

To a query, he had made it clear that no secret talks would be held with the opposition. "We are an elected government and will make public the terms of reference of any negotiation with the opposition," he added.