RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD: This Saturday was unlike most others for residents of the twin cities. Usually, the busy city witnesses a calm on weekends; some people throng markets and bazaars for a shopping spree, others prefer to stay home.

But this on this Independence Day eve, Rawalpindi wore a very different look. Roads were blocked and traffic diverted to accommodate the rallies being staged by both government and opposition parties.

Although the rallies and public meetings by the ruling PML-N, PTI and Sheikh Rashid’s Awami Muslim League were held in connection with Independence Day celebrations, it gave each political party the chance to showcase its strength.

Amid tight security and constant checking by the police and other law enforcement agencies across the twin cities, party leaders guided their processions through the narrow streets of downtown Pindi.

The day began in confusion: the local administration had banned all rallies and public meetings in the area, but Sheikh Rashid managed to get the Lahore High Court’s permission to hold a public meeting. Again, when the local administration contacted the courts and filed a review petition, the same was rejected by Justice Abadur Rehman Lodhi.

“The local administration made history by filing a review petition against a court order for our public meeting, just to please the Punjab government. But they were turned down by the independent judiciary,” Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told Dawn.

PTI rally

The political hustle and bustle picked up around the afternoon, when the PTI first managed to get their rally out of Liaquat Bagh. Party workers were seen distributing Pakistani flags, buntings and caps among youngsters in a bid to attract them.

Accompanied by party spokesperson Naeemul Haq and Aleem Khan, PTI Chairman Imran Khan arrived at Katchery Chowk from Banni Gala at around 4:00 pm and joined a rally coming from Taxila, which was led by PTI MNA Ghulam Sarwar Khan.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Jahangir Tareen also joined the rally there, and the marched towards Liaquat Bagh, where they spent about an hour. At this point, numbers will still thin.

The low bridge at Marir Chowk also posed a challenge for the PTI chief’s container. As the convoy turned onto Murree Road, a miscalculation of the height of the container meant that PTI leaders including Imran Khan, Jahangir Tareen and Shah Mehmood Qureshi had to duck to save their necks.

According to old party workers, the PTI had failed to mobilise workers from Rawalpindi city, since most of the congregation hailed from outskirts, such as Taxila, Wah, Gujar Khan, Murree, DHA and Bahria Town. The turnout from cantonment areas, especially NA-52, which is the constituency of Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, was better than that from the city areas.

At Liaquat Bagh, Imran Khan tried to rouse party workers with an unscheduled speech, despite an unimpressive turnout. “The speech of Imran Khan was not in the schedule, but we wanted to gather a crowd so he spoke there,” a senior party leader said.

The disorganisation of the party’s Pindi wing was evident. Akhtar Khan, a resident of Taxila, told Dawn that more than 500 people came from Wah and Taxila for the rally. But Mustafa Ahmed, a resident of Westridge, said that he was not informed by the local chapter about the rally, adding that there was no transport arrangement. “Most people came to see Imran Khan only,” he said.

Ammar Ahmed, a resident of Chaklala Scheme-III, alleged that police and local administration made its very difficult for people to enter the rallies by doing excessive checks in the name of security. “In contrast, police gave free hand to PML-N workers who even ran their motorbikes without silencers,” he said.

PML-N rally

Once Imran Khan’s convoy was en route to Islamabad, the PML-N started to flex its muscle. Union council (UC) chairmen had been assigned to bring 100 each people from each UC of the city.

Changing tact, the ruling party tried to show their strength in city areas.

The streets of Pindi were fair game for PML-N workers and supporters on motorbikes and daredevils pulled wheelies and stunts without any fear of reprisal. Also interesting was the fact that in addition to traditional pro-Nawaz and Shahbaz slogans, many also raised their voice in support of Hamza Shahbaz and Maryum Nawaz.

PML-N Rawalpindi Chapter General Secretary Haji Pervaiz Khan told Dawn that after Sheikh Rashid got permission to hold his event, the ruling party also decided to go for its public meeting as per plan.

“The local administration requested us to begin our function after Imran Khan’s rally crossed Murree Road, and we acceded to their request to maintain the peace in the city.”

Sheikh Rashid public meeting

Though people started to gather at Lal Haveli around 8pm, the speakers and sound system had been turned on in the evening. Mostly people from Bohar Bazaar and adjoining areas were seen at the site of the public meeting.

Shiekh Rashid told Dawn the government was afraid of his public meeting and claimed that local PML-N leaders had been asked to spend money on sabotaging the opposition’s events.

He said that the opposition came out to expose those named in the Panama Papers leaks and question them about the illegal monies through which they had established offshore companies.

Islamabad

In the capital, preparations for Imran Khan and Co’s arrival on 8th Avenue began in the afternoon. This was the first time in two years – since the 2014 dharna – that the local PTI leadership got a chance to activate their workers and supporters.

Not only did local PTI leaders hold small rallies within sectors throughout the day, they also planned some fireworks for around midnight.

“Taking out rallies and organising the masses is the party’s work, but we will also hold a fireworks display in sector G-6 to mark Independence Day,” said Muhammad Saqib, an elected councillor from the same area.

Though Mr Khan was scheduled to address the rally participants at its culmination point around 10pm, its slow progress through Pindi delayed his arrival. For party activists, though, the daly was due to ‘overwhelming public participation’.

“We expect that between 15 to 20,000 residents of Islamabad will converge at Faisal Chowk, which is a big number keeping in view the nature of the city,” said PTI Islamabad President Amir Malik.

But getting to Faisal Chowk – the venue of the gathering on the intersection of Faisal Avenue and Margalla Road, was a cumbersome task both for participants and mediapersons.

Due to close proximity of the venue to residential areas in F-7/2 and F-8/3, extra efforts were made by traffic police to ensure proper parking along the two service roads of these sectors - Ismail Zabeeh Road in F-8 and Parveen Shakir Road in F-7 sector.

Many participants also faced an unexpected problem – a lack of parking space; most vehicles were parked alongside Faisal Avenue near the intersection with Kaghan Road.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2016