LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government has come out to support the rebel PML-N MPAs, while sarcastically explaining the opposition party’s “voteko izzat do” narrative, and reinforcing apprehensions that the ruling party may be looking to create a forward bloc.

Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill on Saturday visited Lahore and defended PML-N’s rebel MPA Jalil Sharaqpuri at a presser, who had publicly disagreed with his party’s supreme leader Nawaz Sharif’s narrative against the army and other state institutions.

Referring to the PML-N’s ‘respect for vote’ slogan, Dr Gill questioned if Mr Sharaqpuri had not bagged votes to reach the Punjab Assembly, and lambasted the opposition party’s leaders Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif for creating a political culture where a dissenting voice was humiliated.

Since the PML-N had expelled five MPAs from the party for meeting Chief Minister Usman Buzdar earlier this month, the party legislators booed MPAs Jalil Sharaqpuri and Maulana Ghayasuddin for taking a stance against Nawaz Sharif’s narrative. They humiliated Mr Sharaqpuri outside the Punjab Assembly by raising slogans of lota (turncoat) and placing a small plastic lota on his head.

Dr Gill alleged that the MPAs had humiliated the ‘rebels’ in the Punjab Assembly at the behest of party’s Vice President Maryam Nawaz.

He went on to recall the history of Nawaz Sharif’s alleged political manoeuvrings, asking him to come to Pakistan to do politics. “Come back to Pakistan, serve jail term and then do politics,” he suggested.

Answering other questions, Dr Gill said the opposition would be allowed to stage rallies within the ambit of law, and wherever violations were reported, writ of the government would be established with an iron hand.

Referring to his claim of Maryam Nawaz meeting with Indian nationals in Lahore, he said he had immediately offered the PML-N vice president or Marriyum Aurangzeb to debate with him over it.

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2020