Liberty lights up again – this time for PML-N

Ruling party wants to claw back Lahore, which once was seen as its citadel

LAHORE:

The Liberty Roundabout on Saturday lit up again in a fashion familiar to the local populace, but this time around it was the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) following in the footsteps of its arch rival, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), to observe Youm-e-Takbeer on Sunday (today).

Liberty, for past many years, served as a go-to destination for the PTI workers for any street activity. There was a peculiar way the PTI used the destination, with reference to positioning of stage, lights, banners and streamers.

There was a palpable air of festivity barring a few occasions when it was done out of protest.
For planned activities at Liberty, a large number of supporters, including a sizable percentage of their family members, were seen thronging to the location in a festive mood a night before the actual date of the event.

The same was on display at the Liberty Roundabout on Saturday, where in a similar manner stage, lights, streamers and banners were placed. And similarities do not end here, as a number of the PML-N supporters and their family members were seen at the Liberty Roundabout on Saturday, a day before the event, to mimic the kind of enthusiasm the PTI supporters were known for.

The PML-N, swung into action on May 26, with Maryam Nawaz addressing a youth convention in Vehari, to cash in on the PTI’s misfortune. The PML-N, which had struggled to knit a workable narrative, feels that the PTI’s downfall has given it a golden opportunity to claw back provincial capital Lahore, which once was seen as its citadel.

Earlier this week, the PML-N decided to observe Youm-e-Takbeer at the Liberty Roundabout in an effort to exhibit its own street power, which for the last several years has seen a steady decline.

The party during a meeting held earlier this week to review the arrangements, however, decided against placing chairs at the venue, as some in the local leadership suggested that chairs would prompt media to count heads which could lead to unnecessary comparison with the PTI’s activities.

The event will be addressed by SVP Maryam. Youm-e-Takbeer is celebrated yearly to commemorate the historic nuclear test at Chagai in 1998.