With Pakistan Muslim League-N’s (PML-N) intra-party rivalries pitting its own leaders against each other and growing public complaints in Faisalabad against the ruling elite, Imran Khan is all set to show the strength of tsunami on Sunday.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leaders say their protest meetings are only meant to highlight the rigging of May 11 elections and that they will continue to tread the path of agitation until and unless a through investigation of election rigging is done.
While calling Imran Khan a pawn of establishment, Rana Sanaullah, the PML-N’s political face both in Faisalabad and in the Punjab, said Khan’s aim was to destablise the government. Sanaullah again asserted that the PTI will not be able to put together an impressive show on Sunday in his hometown despite mobilising public from all-over the Punjab. But signs are that the PTI is heading for a big show despite some odds.
A senior PTI leader Minhaz Rafee said that no matter what the government does and says to stop the public, the personal charisma and appeal of Imran Khan among the youth and other segments will work wonders again in Faisalabad on May 25.
PTI leaders Abdul Aleem Khan, Ejaz Chaudhry and Mahmoodur Rasheed are quite active to put together a good show though making complaints of disruptive tactics on part of the government, especially Rana sanaullah. Aleem Khan is scheduled to lead a big procession to Faisalabad on Sunday afternoon. Likewise, Ejaz Chaudhry himself would join the public meeting through the Grand Trunk road along with other leaders from the PTI Punjab.
“We do not have any specific instructions from the leadership regarding this jalsa. The crowd will come from Faisalabad mainly,” said PTI Punjab Deputy Information Secretary Malik Azam. But the PML-N leaders say that the PTI is using huge funds to bring crowd from the entire province, if not from the country at the venue.
What makes Imran khan task easier in Faisalabad and that of government’s difficult is the festering feud between the two PML-N giants from the city, Rana Sanaullah and Abid Sher Ali. Both are at loggerheads and often work at cross-purposes against each other no matter what its consequences are for the party. How this rivalry plays out this time needs no guessing.
More than that the people of Faisalabad are not happy the way things turned up after elections. There is no relief from load-shedding. Instead more and more people are joining the ranks of people getting jobless due to load shedding with businesses closing down. It is believed that being an industrial town, Faisalabasd is hit by loads shedding more than any other place in the province. Safe drinking water is one of the pipedream of the local people. It is claimed that every fourth individual is the victim of hepatitis.
The experts say lack of development with no mega project in Faisalabad to the government credit is further a cause of disillusionment among the people. No wonder they look for other messiahs and become more responsive to calls of such messiahs.
