LAHORE:
Hundreds of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) workers on Saturday staged a sit-in against the government in front of the Punjab Assembly.
The protesters who included women and children shouted slogans against the government and danced to national songs. Traffic on The Mall remained suspended for hours.
PTI leaders Mehmoodur Rashid, Yasmin Rashid and Abdul Aleem Khan addressed the protesters.
“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should resign within 48 hours... otherwise he will have to face a public backlash,” Mehmoodur Rashid said.
He said the prime minister had lied to the parliament when he said that he had not requested the army to mediate.
“Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah should move a privilege motion against Nawaz Sharif,” he said.
The PTI leader said the anti-government movement had spread to other parts of the country.
Yasmin Rashid said PTI chairman Imran Khan was fighting for the poor. She said protest demonstrations would continue until the government stepped down.
She said the PTI Azadi March had put the prime minster under pressure. “No one can stop people from creating a new Pakistan,” she said.
Khan said the government’s policies had landed it in a quagmire. He said people had expressed confidence in the PTI by joining the Azadi March.
“The change is on the cards. No one can stop it.”
He said the PTI would clean sweep future elections in Lahore.
PTI workers also organised a sit-in at Liberty Chowk and one at Lalak Jan Chowk in the Defence Housing Authority.
Faisalabad sit-in
Hundreds of workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) and Majlis-i-Wahdatul Muslimeen on Saturday staged protest demonstrations to express solidarity with anti-government sit-ins in Islamabad.
They took out protest rallies and marched on several city roads before staging a sit-in at Kutchery Bazaar Chowk, blocking the intersection for traffic. The protesters shouted slogans against the government.
Faizullah Kamoka, Asad Muazzam, Sheikh Khurram, Rana Tahir, Chaudhry Zaheeruddin, Chaudhry Ali Akhtar, Sheikh Javaid and Mehboob Alam Sindhu led the rallies.
They later addressed the protesters at Kutchery Bazaar Chowk, vowing to continue their protest until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif resign.
“The cabinet consists of members elected through rigging,” Kamoka told the sit-in.
Khurram said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had lied to the nation when he said that he had not requested the army to mediate in the current political standoff. “The army spokesman has exposed government’s lies,” he said.
“The prime minster should resign immediately. Otherwise, people will force him out of the parliament.”
Muazzam said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led government had looted national wealth. “People fed up with the corrupt government have resorted to protest.”
He asked Nawaz Sharif to relinquish office.
Sindhu said the government had betrayed people after coming to power.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 31st, 2014.
COMMENTS (5)
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@ bahaha
LOL. Count the number of hours given by the self assumed veto power holders and we may already be running into hundreds of hours. Hence, 17520 hours may not be too far off the mark!
PTI trolls and leaders need to read sone books in real-politk. A leader should know when to make a dignified retreat. PTI promised a lot, won a little (KPK), demanded a lot (6 points), won something (5 points ) and then has lost all its good will and clout and its leader has become one of the most reviled person in Pakistan. Poor leadership, gullible followers. Recipe for the disaster unfolding in front of us.
ET why no news of protest and other events taking place on front page.
OK lets make it 17520 Hrs. That's a full 1 year before time
NS must resign, he is digging a bigger hole for himself. Not even certain sections of the media can save him now. What happened last night is open for the public to see!