PESHAWAR: The provincial media committee of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has said that government will be held responsible in case the administration creates any hurdle to Peshawar rally on November 22.

The members of PDM media committee held a meeting here to review arrangements for the public meeting in Peshawar.

The meeting was attended by PPP information secretary Rubina Khalid, ANP provincial information secretary Samar Haroon Bilour, JUI-F information secretary Jalil Jan, Ikhtiar Wali Khan of PML-N, PPP’s Gohar Ali Inqilabi, Asad Afridi of QWP and information secretaries of other member parties of PDM.

Talking to journalists after the meeting, Robina Khalid said that government should fulfil its obligations for the public meeting rather than criticising the opposition parties.

ANP threatens to march on Islamabad

She said that joint strategy was chalked out for making the November 22 rally a success. Social media teams of all member parties would fully participate so that the speeches in the meeting would broadcast to every corner of the country.

Ms Khalid said that the interview of PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari granted to BBC was being presented out of context by the members of PTI to create rift in PDM. “However, we have clarified that the statement of PDM is the statement of PPP,” she added.

Jalil Jan and Ikhtiar Wali Khan also spoke on the occasion.

Meanwhile, addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday, Samar Haroon Bilour asked the government to avoid restricting the Peshawar rally otherwise people would opt to march on Islamabad.

She said that government was using Covid-19 pandemic as a tool to restrict the public rallies of opposition parties but they would not bow down to any pressure.

Flanked by her party’s information committee members Rehmat Ali Khan, Hamid Toofan, Mian Babar Shah and Dr Zahidullah Khan, she alleged that PTI was not interested in November 21 Rashkai public meeting but it was meant to disturb the opposition rally.

Ms Bilour said that the rally would be held as per schedule and government would not be allowed to hide behind coronavirus. She referred to elections in Gilgit-Baltistan and public meetings of different political parties during the past few days and said that government was duty-bound to ban all such gatherings if the pandemic was widespread in the country.

She said that threat alerts about possible terrorist acts were also meant to sabotage the PDM rally. She said that face masks and sanitizers would be provided to participants of the rally.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2020