PML-N leader offers ‘ticket to paradise’ for attending Nawaz’s homecoming rally

In a widely circulated video on social media, Chaudhry Asadur Rehman, a leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has drawn public criticism for promising heavenly rewards to those welcoming former prime minister Nawaz Sharif at the party's forthcoming political rally at Minar-e-Pakistan, Express News reported.

The PML-N supremo, set to return on October 21 after ending his almost four-year long exile in London, is slated to address a rally organised by his key party aides, who are mobilising people in various corner meetings ahead of the former premier’s return to the country.

The move to gather people for PML-N Minar-e-Pakistan rally does not sit well with Nawaz's political adversaries, who claim that such attempts are being made in the wake of former premier's declining popularity.

Read More: What does ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s return mean for Pakistan’s politics?

Addressing a corner meeting in Kamalia, the PML-N leader, who is a former member of the National Assembly (MNA) from NA-954 Toba Tek Singh, said that on October 21, “angels would be compiling a list of those who would go to Minar-e-Pakistan to welcome Nawaz Sharif”.

In a bid to invite more people to join the rally, the PML-N leader was willing to extend the “clearance certificate” of direct entry into heaven without facing any “reckoning”.

He also gave the clearance “certificate” to the participants of the corner meeting.

The PML-N leader also claimed to have made similar assertions in the presence of Nawaz. He recalled that he also stated before Nawaz that angels would compile a list of those who were gearing up to receive the former prime minister on his homecoming.

Read More: Nawaz ready to ‘forgive and forget’

However, he did not disclose what was the response of Nawaz when he made such assertions.

It is pertinent to mention that the PML-N leader is also the candidate for the upcoming general elections. He is the brother of former judge Khalilur Rehman Ramde.

Similarly, another PML-N leader attempted to attract more attendees to the Minar-e-Pakistan rally by offering motorcycles to party workers and promising biryani meals as incentives.