As the opposition alliance gets ready to hold its power show in the provincial capital on Sunday, political temperatures have also risen to their peak. A defiant opposition faces off against an adamant government, and accusations are thick in the air. The last few weeks have seen a frenzy of activity in Lahore, from both sides; here’s a brief look at all that happened.
On Saturday, the district government of Lahore rejected Pakistan Democratic Alliance (PDM) application for holding a rally at Minar-e-Pakistan on December 13.
In a letter to PDM leaders, the Deputy Commissioner of Lahore informed that COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in Lahore and the positivity rate has reached 7.8 percent. He also said that there are reports of terrorist attacks on the rally.
During the day, PML-N workers broke into the Greater Iqbal Park to set the stage for PDM’s rally. They broke the lock of the gate number 5 and entered the park along with the equipment to install the stage for the public rally.
The PDM leaders have accused the local government of arresting their workers as well as blocking roads. Rana Sanaullah said the government is arresting workers from different areas of Punjab.
However, provincial law minister, Raja Basharat has denied and declared these allegations baseless. He said the government will not provide opposition any opportunity for confrontation, however, action will be taken against those who would not follow COVID-19 SOP’s.
Chief Minister of Punjab, Usman Buzdar has asked the opposition to solve all issues with dialogue. He said that COVID-19 is a real threat in Punjab and opposition should not put people lives at risk for their political gains.
Senator Faisal Javed Khan took to twitter and said that if PDM wants to resign from assemblies than it should submit resignation within 24 hours and Speaker National Assembly will accept opposition’s resignation immediately.
Member parliaments from PPP and PML-N have started to submit their resignations to their leaders. Nasir Shah, a provincial minister has submitted his resignation to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. In addition to this four PML-N members from Vehari have sent their resignations
