LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari reached the Punjab capital from Islamabad to oversee the party’s preparations for the all-important Dec 13 rally of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) at Minar-i-Pakistan.

He has convened a meeting of the party’s Punjab chapter leadership at Bilawal House for today (Friday) to finalise a strategy for mobilising the cadre and making the 11-party opposition alliance’s show a success.

He believes that it’s time for the Jiyalas (diehard party workers) to come out on roads and give a final push to the ‘puppet’ government.

A local party leader quoted him as saying that the Dec 13 rally had begun giving sleepless nights to the rulers, who were resorting to every tactics — from barring caterers to rent out their chairs, tents, sound systems to the Pakistan Democratic Movement and arresting those violating the unwritten orders to detaining the leading activists and exaggerating the figures about the spread of the coronavirus.

Sources say the PPP chairman is also scheduled to meet PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Friday (today) to discuss the political situation, particularly regarding the Sunday rally.

He will also offer condolences to Maryam on the demise of her grandmother.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2020