PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday lashed out at the government during a public gathering — held to mark the first anniversary of 2018’s general elections — saying that the incumbent government had “ruined” the economy in the first year of its tenure.
He was addressing a public meeting at Motorway Chowk on Ring Road in Peshawar alongside members of opposition parties including Qaumi Watan Party’s Chairman Aftab Sherpao and Awami National Party’s President Asfandyar Wali Khan. Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who was leading the rally, also addressed the gathering.
A visibly charged Iqbal said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has asked for loans from every friendly nation. “He (prime minister) used to say that he would commit suicide but not ask the International Monetary Fund for money,” Iqbal said.
The former planning minister said that Nawaz Sharif had delivered on all his promises and merged the tribal areas with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Opposition parties are marking the first anniversary of the 2018 general elections as ‘Youm-e-Siah’ — ‘black day’ — by holding rallies across Pakistan.
The joint opposition are holding public meetings in all provincial capitals — Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta — while a demonstration will be held in Islamabad.
PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz arrived in Quetta, where she will address a rally at Ayub Stadium to mark the first anniversary of 2018 general elections.
Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the chairman of Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party, and other opposition leaders will also join Maryam at the rally and address supporters. Security has been beefed up around the stadium.
In a post shared on Twitter prior to her departure, Maryam wrote that every day under the current government — that she alleged had “stolen votes and was a fraud” — is a black day for the country.
Lahore
While Maryam and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai will address the meeting in Quetta, Lahore’s public meeting will be presided over by PML-N President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif.
According to a post shared by the PML-N on Twitter, Shehbaz will address a rally at 5pm at Charing Cross in Lahore. PPP Punjab president Qamar Zaman Kaira, Prof Sajid Mir and Maulana Amjad Ali Khan will also address the rally.
A large contingent of police and anti-riot force personnel have been stationed around Mall Road, where heavy rainfall affected preparations.
Earlier, it was reported that the Punjab government denied permissionto the opposition to hold a rally on The Mall today.
Karachi
PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will lead the public meeting at Bagh-e-Jinnah in Karachi alongside PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq. Ahead of the rally, preparations have been completed. Opposition parties have set up welcome camps around the location and strict security arrangements have been made.
The opposition parties in the National Assembly had also decided to hold a general convention today outside the Mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Central leaders of the opposition parties will address the event while conventions will also be held in other provincial capitals.
Peshawar
Over 1,100 police officers and 250 traffic police officers are on duty for an opposition gathering at the Motorway Chowk on Ring Road.
JUI-F will also hold a ‘million march’ at 3pm that will be addressed by the leaders of opposition parties.
Islamabad
Local leaders and workers of the PML-N carried out a protest rally in front of the National Press Club in Islamabad. The rally is expected to go from the press club to Parliament House.
Participants of the rally, which included local leaders of the JUI-F and PkMAP, chanted slogans against Prime Minister Imran and his government. Police and other security personnel were present at the protest site.
Addressing the rally, PkMAP Islamabad president Abdul Qayyum Achakzai alleged that the PTI government had promised “change” but instead imposed taxes worth Rs750 billion on the people after coming into power.
He claimed that supporters of his party were unable to join the opposition rally in Balochistan because roads across the province had allegedly been blocked. “We strongly condemn [the move],” he added.
The opposition rallies coincide with Prime Minister Imran Khan’s returnfrom an official working visit to the United States, which has largely been seen as a diplomatic win for the government.
The premier, while addressing a large crowd at a community event at Washington’s Capital One Arena on his first day in the US, had gone after opposition leaders and threatened to ‘take away’ their prison facilities. “They will stay there as long as they do not return the money they have looted,” Imran had thundered to a charged audience.
Opposition parties had lambasted Prime Minister Imran over his speech and termed it “provocative, anarchic and full of venom”.
