PML-N short of numbers at Faisalabad rally: Intelligence agencies
Despite Nawaz’s presence, party fails to gather numbers seen at Lahore rallies.
LAHORE:
The presence of Nawaz Sharif was not enough for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to draw an imposing crowd at their rally in Faisalabad on Sunday.
Intelligence and law enforcement agencies reported that the PML-N’s Faisalabad rally had a smaller crowd than the recent Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf’s Lahore rally and even the PML-N’s own rally in the same city.
According to sources, Punjab police’s Special Branch (SB), which is directly answerable to the Punjab government, stated in its report that PML-N’s Faisalabad rally attracted fewer participants than PTI’s Lahore rally. SB reported that around 35,000 people participated at the Dhobi Ghaat rally between the peak hours of 5pm and 7:45pm.
It seems that federal and provincial intelligence services kept more than one eye on proceedings in Faisalabad. Senior officers and field staffers were deployed by Punjab’s SB, Security Branch, Inter-Services Intelligence, the Intelligence Bureau and Military Intelligence, sources said.
The rally caused too much excitement for some. A PML-N worker firing in the air prior to the meeting unwittingly injured a nine-year-old boy, who was hospitalised after being shot. A man, Haji Sajjad, also died from a heart attack on his way to the rally.
Reports also revealed that many of those in attendance came from outside the city, with only 6,000 to 8,000 participants from Faisalabad itself.
The Punjab police’s Special Branch had estimated that PTI’s Lahore rally drew around 40,000 and the PML-N’s Lahore rally drew around 45,000 people. Federal government agencies had vastly different numbers, however. The Intelligence Bureau estimated 60,000 people attended the PTI rally, with only around 20,000 at the PML-N rally.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2011.
The presence of Nawaz Sharif was not enough for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to draw an imposing crowd at their rally in Faisalabad on Sunday.
Intelligence and law enforcement agencies reported that the PML-N’s Faisalabad rally had a smaller crowd than the recent Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf’s Lahore rally and even the PML-N’s own rally in the same city.
According to sources, Punjab police’s Special Branch (SB), which is directly answerable to the Punjab government, stated in its report that PML-N’s Faisalabad rally attracted fewer participants than PTI’s Lahore rally. SB reported that around 35,000 people participated at the Dhobi Ghaat rally between the peak hours of 5pm and 7:45pm.
It seems that federal and provincial intelligence services kept more than one eye on proceedings in Faisalabad. Senior officers and field staffers were deployed by Punjab’s SB, Security Branch, Inter-Services Intelligence, the Intelligence Bureau and Military Intelligence, sources said.
The rally caused too much excitement for some. A PML-N worker firing in the air prior to the meeting unwittingly injured a nine-year-old boy, who was hospitalised after being shot. A man, Haji Sajjad, also died from a heart attack on his way to the rally.
Reports also revealed that many of those in attendance came from outside the city, with only 6,000 to 8,000 participants from Faisalabad itself.
The Punjab police’s Special Branch had estimated that PTI’s Lahore rally drew around 40,000 and the PML-N’s Lahore rally drew around 45,000 people. Federal government agencies had vastly different numbers, however. The Intelligence Bureau estimated 60,000 people attended the PTI rally, with only around 20,000 at the PML-N rally.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2011.