PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has announced the launch of a mass contact campaign across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and adjoining tribal regions on Sept 23 to mobilise workers and people against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s march on Raiwind slated to begin next day.

The announcement was made by Pakistan Muslim League-N provincial president Pir Sabir Shah in a statement issued here on Friday.

Mr. Pir Sabir said the campaign would be launched in Swat by holding the workers’ convention.

He said preparations for the convention had been finalised, while a committee consisting of Pakistan Muslim League-N provincial senior vice president Haji Ahmadzada Khan, Swat district general secretary Umar Farooq and PML-N Youth Wing Malakand division vice president Aftab Mohammad Khan was already working on it.

The PML-N leader said the PTI’s announcement on Raiwind march had angered PML-N workers, who wanted to give the PTI tough time in KP.

He warned PML-N activists would strongly react if the police acted against those, who hoisted party flags on the KP Assembly’s premises of late, as declared by the chief minister.

“Our Muslim League Mujahid Force, Youth Wing and Muslim Student Federation are ready to come onto the streets to teach the chief minister a lesson,” he said.

Mr. Pir Sabir insisted no one attacked the KP Assembly building and that PML-N workers did nothing wrong.

He said the holding of demonstrations, rallies and sit-ins was the democratic right of the people.

“The PTI held sit-in in Islamabad for 126 days in 2014 but the federal government didn’t register cases against it,” he said.

The PML-N leader said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had attacked Pakistan Television and Parliament buildings in Islamabad but even then, its chairman, Imran Khan, was not taken into custody.

He said Imran Khan had also supported General Pervez Musharaf’s referendum, while the PML-N workers strongly opposed Musharraf’s martial law and campaigned against his dictatorship.

Mr. Pir Sabir warned the PML-N could bring crowds of people onto the streets against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government in the province if the chief minister didn’t change his ‘attitude’ towards Leaguers.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2016