LAHORE: Lawmakers from the ruling PML-N are wary of carrying out election campaigns for the upcoming general elections after Sunday’s assassination attempt on Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, yet they say they will not let anything hold them back.

After the alleged attacker’s links with the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) were established, some PML-N lawmakers Dawn spoke to on Monday expressed fear that their party might not be given a level-playing field in the elections if more of such incidents took place.

They were of the idea that in 2013 the PPP and Awami National Party had been targeted by the Taliban thus depriving them of opportunity to campaign across the country.

“The same situation is being repeated in 2018 election. But the role of the Taliban may be played by someone else to deter the PML-N from campaigning,” said a PML-N MNA from Punjab, who is considered a part of the Nawaz camp.

He claimed the PML-N leadership was being targeted since the ouster of their Quaid Nawaz Sharif from the office of prime minister. “After the ink and shoe attacks on Khawaja Asif and Nawaz Sharif, respectively, the assassination attempt on Ahsan Iqbal shows the gravity of the situation. Like our leader (Nawaz) said, ‘everyone’ is targeting us and making an effort to stop us from returning to power,” he added.

Punjab Minorities Minister Khalil Tahir Sindhu said: “The same environment (fear of Taliban) in which PPP and ANP contested the election in 2013 is being created in 2018 polls for the PML-N, but this time there is some other group. We are being pushed against the wall. After the attack on Mr Ahsan, we are receiving directives from deputy commissioners of respective districts to restrict our movements,” he said, and demanded all parties promote politics of tolerance and not let extremist elements impose their will.

The minister admitted that such an environment would create difficulties for the PML-N candidates to canvass in their constituencies. “But we will keep fighting,” he added.

MPA from Lahore, Majid Zahoor, said although it was quite an alarming situation for the party that its government’s interior minister was shot at during a rally in his hometown, “we will face it and go into elections with a brave heart”.

“We are being targeted by everyone, including some religious extremists. But I want to tell other political parties that if the PML-N is targeted in the name of religion, the fire will engulf others too,” he said, adding the PML-N would not leave the arena for others and was ready to face any kind of circumstances in the coming elections.

Mr Zahoor further said all institutions would have to play their role in curbing “this hatred”. “I ask both the TLP and the PTI to stop fanning politics of extremism. All stakeholders need to sit together after the attack on Mr Ahsan and make sure that free and fair elections are held in a transparent manner and all political parties are given a level-playing field,” he said.

PML-N leader Muhammad Mehdi said: “It is not only our members who are worried, but the situation is equally alarming for other parties too. The extremist elements who blame us for changing a clause related to finality of Prophethood are also holding other parties responsible for it. Therefore, we need to take measures together to stop hate speech.”

Mr Mehdi advised all political parties to sit together and agree to take measures to stop hatred being spread by religious or extremist elements against any political personality or party.

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2018