PM Imran wants attendance records 'broken' at D-Chowk rally

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday announced that he wanted "all records of public attendance to be broken" during his Islamabad rally at D-Chowk on March 27 in an effort to ‘fight for the soul of Pakistan’.

The premier took to his official Twitter handle, a week before the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s rally at D-Chowk, and stated that he stood with what was right and condemned the “shameless buying of politicians’ souls by political mafias to protect their looted wealth”.

Earlier this week, the PTI had announced that it would hold a “massive power show” at Islamabad’s D-Chowk on March 27 and take out one million people to the streets to “express confidence in their leader [PM Imran]”. The ruling party is expected to give a plan of action on the opposition's no-confidence motion, which it believes would fail.

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“As I have invited people in Islamabad on March 27 [for a rally], the nation should come out to tell that they stand with the truth and not with thieves, dacoits, hypocrites and the slaves of America,” the premier had said.

Dissident lawmakers

On Saturday, the PTI had issued show-cause notices to dissident lawmakers for joining the opposition parties, who brought no-confidence motion, as Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed the hope the estranged lawmakers would soon return to the party-fold.

In the notices, the ruling party reminded the dissidents that they were bound to follow the directions issued by the PTI as its member. It asked the lawmakers to explain within seven days about giving the impression that they were about to leave the party.

PM Imran had said “bags of notes” were being used from Sindh House in Islamabad for horse-trading and “buying conscience” of the members of parliament like “Nawaz Sharif did in Changa Manga in the past”.