LAHORE: The Pakistan People’s Party on Wednesday launched a campaign to mobilise its workers in the provincial capital for its protest drive against loadshedding.

The party is going to set up a camp at Minar-i-Pakistan lawns from May 4, mimicking Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who had resorted to a similar exercise back in 2012 to protest against the then federal government run by the PPP over loadshedding issue.

In this connection, the PPP held two public meetings on Wednesday – first in Shahdara and the other on Burki Road outside Paragon residential scheme -- where Qamar Zaman Kaira, Samina Khalid Ghurki, Naveed Cahudhry, Aslam Gill and others lashed out at the PML-N for what they said failing to fulfill its election promises.

Mr Kaira recalled that Shahbaz Sharif had promised to overcome the energy crisis in six months but now as the PML-N had completed four years in power the masses were still being subjected to up to 16-hour outages a day.

On Thursday (today), the party will hold public meetings at Karol Ghati and Rasoolpura, Raiwind.

JI: The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) will hold countrywide protests against loadshedding on April 28 and stage sit-ins in front of the offices of power distribution companies in major towns.

Party chief Senator Sirajul Haq will address a rally in Malakand where he will give a line of action against the government.

JI General Secretary Liaqat Baloch told a press conference on Wednesday the JI central executive at its meeting had decided to start a full-scale campaign against loadshedding and to free the masses from the ruling junta.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2017