RAWALPINDI: Having gotten a thumbs up from most parties in the parliament and having waxed lyrical about the supremacy of the legislature, the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) accompanied by Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) has now taken to the roads to prove it is as popular and street smart as the protesting parties.

Titled ‘Istehkam-i-Pakistan Rally’, the League and its ally claimed that the rallies were aimed to show their support for the democratic system, the Parliament and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Despite the earlier announcement of holding rallies in the garrison city, both the parties – PML-N and JUI-F – gathered at Faizabad on Monday evening to march towards Zero Point.

This was the first time in five years that all the local leaders and stalwarts of PML-N joined hands, putting aside their internal rifts.

Thousands of party workers chant pro-government slogans, promising allegiance to PM

The PML-N workers were led by Punjab Labour Minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar, while the JUI-F students were led by Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Tauheedi.

The scenes were uncannily similar to what the twin cities have been witnessing for the past week or so.

The charged workers danced to the tunes of national and party songs and they were wearing green ribbons and arm bands. But lest they be mistaken for a PTI crowd, the vehicles in the motorcade were decorated with numerous stuffed lions – PML-N’s election symbol – along with banners and posters declaring their commitment to democracy and party leadership.

The local leaders riding atop mini-trucks cheered and waved at the crowd that had gathered on both sides of the road.

The local police and traffic police that were deployed on the roads facilitated the participants and even removed the containers from Faizabad, which had stayed put for the past two weeks to discourage those who want to join the protesters.

All petrol pumps, shopping malls and other markets on Murree Road were forced to close down to prevent any untoward situation. Public transport had also disappeared, while taxi and rickshaw drivers fleeced the passengers.

After arriving at Faizabad, the party leaders promised to support the prime minister and vowed to foil any unconstitutional and undemocratic steps to remove him. They claimed that Azadi and Inqilab marches were aimed at weakening the country and its economy.

Raja Ashfaq Sarwar claimed that the entire nation wanted the continuation of the democratic process and a large majority backed the prime minister. He alleged that a few thousand people gathered by a “disgruntled party” could not be allowed to undo PML-N’s mandate.

Traffic congestion

As if the twin cities were not facing enough traffic problems since the past two weeks, the worst traffic jam was witnessed on Monday night as many places, such as Saddar, Marir, Rawal Road, Raja Bazaar, Peshawar Road, Chandni Chowk and Pirwadhai Mor, remained choked.

Talking to Dawn, the commuters felt that the sit-ins and rallies in the twin cities had created multitude of problems for the residents. They held the local administration and traffic police responsible for being unable to make a traffic management plan and deal with such a situation.

“The road closures and containers are creating problems. We are already suffering from price hike; now there is no way to travel to work and back,” said Qamar Hussain, a commuter.

He claimed that the traffic police and the local administration were busy in sit-ins and protests and did not care about the public. Hussain stated that cabbies increased their fares as soon as the roads were blocked.

Anwar Raja complained that first the roads were blocked because of metro bus project and now the sit-ins and rallies had confined people to their houses. He said traffic police were giving way to PML-N rally but were not providing alternative routes to the public.

Outstation rallies

MNA Raja Jawaid Ikhlas, MPA Chaudhry Iftikhar Warsi, Raja Shaukat Aziz Bhatti, advocate Raja Hameed and Shahid Saraf group brought out a combined rally in Gujar Khan to support PML-N.

Former provincial minister Chaudhry Muhammad Riaz ended his political hibernation and also came along with a large number of traders and veteran party workers.

While addressing the participants, these leaders alleged that the ‘dharna politics’ being practiced by PTI and PAT leaders was aimed at undermining the development agenda and please the country’s enemies.

Similar rallies were held in Taxila. A rally came from Wah Cantonment, led by party’s district president for Rawalpindi Sardar Mumtaz Khan. Another rally emerged from Taxila, led by former MPA Umer Farooq.

Both processions joined at Taxila Chowk, with protesters raising slogans against the “undemocratic” actions of Imran Khan and Dr Tahirul Qadri.

Former MPA Umer Farooq said that PTI’s demand for prime minister’s resignation was undemocratic, while Sardar Mumtaz Khan claimed that these sit-ins were denting the country’s economy.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2014