The wait ends and the showdown for “show of political strength” begins, as the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) rolls up its sleeves to take out a rally from Nasir Bagh to Bhaati Chowk today (Friday).
The rally bearing the motto of uprising against the federal government for causing unabated load shedding, price hike and corruption, was the second round of the “Go Zardari Go Movement”, which PML-N President Nawaz Sharif launched in Dera Ghazi Khan on October 19. The PML-N rally was expected to gather more than 50,000 people. In absence Nawaz, who was in Turkey, Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif will address the protest. The third round will start on November 4 in Faisalabad, which was likely to be addressed by Nawaz.
In terms of preparation of the rally, a high-rise stage built with two containers was positioned at centre of Bhaati Chowk. Special sitting arrangements were made solely for women. Free parking stands were established in which motorcycles will be given free parking tickets. To make the rally a success, PML-N leaders and activists remained busy until wee hours to give final touches to the rally. With a massive display of lightening, the night wore a look of a bright sunny day. Party MNAs and MPAs continued to frequent the spot to review final arrangements. Preparation to establish the stage got of the ground after Isha prayers. In a bid to keep the morale high, protest camps were setup. With hiring of special drummers, patriotic songs were played. Party leaders accompanied by police personnel personally combed the rally route and surroundings areas from Nasir Bagh to Bhaati Chowk. Law enforcement agencies were also seen heighten security arrangements.
Various PML-N wings, including labour wing, youth wing, lawyers wing, traders wing, cultural wing, women wing and minority wing, oversees wing held their respective meetings and took stock of the final preparedness. The PML-N gave special focus on arrangement regarding logistic and transportation to bring flood of people in the rally. Publicity blitz campaign on the print and electronic media also continued to heat up the situation. Various parts of the city were dotted with banners bearing pictures of the Sharifs besides traditional slogans, “Challo Challo Nasir Bagh Challo.”
According to an eyewitness, rally preparations were looking like drills for general elections. Refreshment and food arrangements for workers and organisers revived memories of elections. While arrangements were giving impression that it was not a rally of Lahore but rally of Punjab. Instead of Lahore-based member of provincial and national assemblies, herds of PML-N parliamentarians hailing from every part of provinces poured into the city with buses filled of people. Long queues were seen on different arteries and major intersections.
On special instructions of PML-N central leaders, including Chaudhry Nisar, Mushahidullah Khan, Khawaja Asif, Ishaq Dar and others reached one day before the rally and monitored final arrangements. The CM Secretariat also witnessed rush of PML-N leaders, coordinators, activists and various heads of provincial bureaucracy. Some political experts termed the selection of rally route from Nasir Bagh to Bhaati Chowk as a smart move, saying that the route was already so thickly populated that even a under average crowd would look bigger. So the PML-N was in win-win situation, they added.
PML-N MPA Khawaja Salman Rafiq told journalists that all routes for the rally had been allocated to party parliamentarians. Women wing leaders and others had been tasked separately to bring women crowd from special entry points. a show.
All set for the PML-N rally today
