LAHORE: Pakistan Peoples Party Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari reached the Punjab capital on Monday and took stock of the arrangements being made for the Jan 17 protest by opposition parties.

PPP central Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira briefed Zardari about the strategy being devised by the action committee formed by Dr Tahirul Qadri.

The committee decided to launch a protest drive on Jan 17 by demonstrating on The Mall, the business district in downtown Lahore where almost all important government offices are located.

Despite announcements to the contrary, the Shahbaz government has decided not to allow the protest on the main artery under the excuse of a Lahore High Court verdict that banned protest activities on the road.

The government has instead suggested using Nasser Bagh on the tip of The Mall as the venue for protest.

Asif Ali Zardari was quoted as directing PPP activists to reach the venue in large numbers to make it a “last nail in the coffin of the Shahbaz government”.

Asserting that the Shahbaz government could no more function, he predicted the protest would lead to the ouster of the younger Sharif from power and asked party workers not to sit idle until the objective was achieved.

Mr Zardari as well as Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan are scheduled to join the Jan 17 protest meeting.

Earlier, opposition leader in the Senate Aitzaz Ahsan told a press conference that Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar is a soft spoken and kind-hearted person so he was not taking action against Nawaz Sharif over the ousted prime minister’s scathing criticism of the judiciary.

But he contradicted his stance by saying had the attack come from a PPP leader the person would have been issued at least a show-cause notice.

“The courts are lenient towards Nawaz Sharif even these days. He is repeatedly speaking against the army and judiciary with impunity.”

The presser followed a consultative meeting on the proposed Jan 17 protest at Mr Ahsan’s residence in which Mr Kaira, Azizur Rehman Chan and others participated.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2018