RAWALPINDI: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif began the second day of his rally as he left the Punjab camp house for Lahore today.
After crossing the Katcheri Chowk, Rawalpindi, Rawat and the GT Road towns, the rally has now reached Jhelum.
PML-N leader Amir Muqam while addressing supporters in Jhelum, said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has been damaged by the PTI and no change has really happened.
“The future of Pakistan is PML-N,” said the PML-N leader.
The former prime minister has reached the dais arranged for his address and is expected to begin his address shortly.
He delivered a short address at Sohawa where while asking his supporters if they have agreed with the Supreme Court decision or not, he said that the people of Pakistan had elected him as the prime minister of Pakistan and the honourable judges sent him home. He also claimed that there are no corruption allegations on him and that he is out to fight for the ‘disqualification’ of the people of Pakistan had entrusted him. He concluded by saying that he is hopeful for the people of Sohawa to support him through thick and thin.
He is expected to address his supporters in Jhelum as well, for which all arrangements have already been done. PML-N’s Talal Chaudhry, however, says that it is up to the party leader to decide where he’d want to address.
He was forced to spend the night in Rawalpindi, however, due to the massive amounts of supporters.
Prior to his departure, Nawaz held a meeting with top party leaders, including Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal and AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider.
Former Interior Minister, Chaudhry Nisar did not take part in the rally due to his ‘ongoing back pain,’ as he later mentioned.
The former premier kicked off the second leg of his journey from Rawalpindi’s Kacheri Chowk, where huge amounts of supporters had already gathered.
Special arrangements have been made by the Rawalpindi police to ensure the rally passes through smoothly from Kacheri Chowk, along with the GT Road, to Rawat’s T-Chowk.
Commuters have been warned to use alternative roads once the rally is under way, to avoid unnecessary inconvenience.
The former premier is expected to move through Jhelum, Kharian, Lala Musa and Gujrat to Gujranwala, and then move through Kamoke, Muridke, Kala Shah Kaku, Ferozwala and Shahdara to enter his hometown of Lahore.
According to PML-N leader Zaeem Qadri, the party leaders will decide on the way whether to camp in Jhelum or somewhere else. The distance between Rawalpindi and Jhelum is around 100km and usually takes around an hour or so in normal traffic.
Nawaz Sharif was disqualified as prime minister by the Supreme Court on July 28 in its verdict in the Panama Papers case.
Addressing supporters at Rawalpindi late Wednesday night, he said to his supporters, “Promise me you would get your mandate respected. Promise me you won’t allow your prime minister to be humiliated this way,” he stated.
“If you do not protect your rights, they will continue to be snatched away from you,” he told his supporters.
“The judges said there is no corruption case against Nawaz Sharif, so why was I disqualified? I leave this for history to determined,” noted the three-time premier.
Earlier, Nawaz Sharif, entered Rawalpindi surrounded by tons of supporters who had come to take part in the rally.