LAHORE: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has announced it will march towards Islamabad by the end of January to topple the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan, at a massive opposition rally which took place on Sunday in the grounds of Lahore’s historic Minar-e-Pakistan.
The PDM is an alliance of 11 major political parties campaigning nationwide to oust the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan who they accuse of coming into power through a rigged election.
“March to Islamabad will be at the end of January or at the beginning of February. Be prepared for this,” PDM chief Fazl-ur-Rehman said.
Opposition leaders from all over the country, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, gave charged speeches at the rally, which defied a government ban put in place amid a surge in coronavirus cases nationwide.
“PDM spent so much money, time, effort and displayed utter callousness by endangering people’s lives during COVID-19 spike-- showing the scant regard they have for citizens safety and well-being,” Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted after the rally, and said in a separate tweet he would ‘never’ give a National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to the opposition leaders.
The rally was also the first major appearance for a new generation of PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders in the important eastern city, which is the capital of Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab.
Lahore is the main power ground of the PML-N and party chief Sharif joined via video link from London late in the evening to say he was continuing to ‘fight for the people.’
Sharif said his ‘narrative’ was the same as the founder of the country, Quaid-e-Azam’s. He criticized the intervention of the military in politics once again-- a charge the army denies.
Earlier, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz asked people to follow health protocols soon after beginning her speech.
“I am begging you, come to the rallies but wear your masks, because I care about your life and health,” she said.
The rally comes amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, with Pakistan firmly in the grips of a second wave of the virus. There were 3,369 new cases reported and 72 deaths in the past 24 hours, according to federal data.
With a string of archival video clips featuring Prime Minister Khan, Nawaz focused on Khan’s election promises which she said were unfulfilled, and criticised inflation and debt under his administration.
As a war of words between government and opposition supporters raged on social and mainstream media, the number of people present at the gathering on Sunday became a central focus of debate.
Live streams have shown full grounds, but the government has insisted the attendance at the rally has been ‘as cold as the weather,’ as temperatures plunge in the city.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who has recently recovered from COVID-19, addressed the gathering shortly after Nawaz.
His words were reminiscent of the speeches of his late grandfather, former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Bhutto-- laced with socialist rhetoric about giving the masses food, shelter and basic rights.
“The time for dialogue is over. Now there will be a long march. Islamabad, we are coming,” he said.
Bhutto spoke of rigged elections and the ‘stolen’ mandate of the people. He said the demand for basic rights-- from nurses, doctors, students and farmers-- was met with oppression and state violence.
During his address, PDM chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the PTI government had ‘sold out’ Kashmir.
He asked the people of the country to come together in the campaign to overthrow the government.
“We were not born to be slaves,” he said. “You are a free country, and with the passion of freedom you must save this nation.”
