ISLAMABAD: Giving an impression that Prime Minister Imran Khan was not worried about the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s (PDM) power show in Lahore, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday released his pictures showing him relaxing with his pet dogs at his Banigala house.

The pictures, released on the PTI’s official Instagram account, were also shown by TV channels.

Clad in a blue tracksuit trousers and navy blue upper with white jogging shoes, the prime minister was seen with his two dogs who, according to the TV channels, are named Sheru and Tiger.

The prime minister spends Sundays at his private residence at Banigala and usually such photos of Mr Khan, during his private activities, are not made public.

The release of his pictures with his pet dogs on the day of the PDM’s public meeting at Minar-i-Pakistan gave an impression that he was unperturbed despite the expected ‘power show’ of the 11-party opposition alliance.

In the pictures, captured in the garden of his residence, Mr Khan is holding a steel bowl with a hand covered in a white glove, giving some feed to his two dogs.

Five pictures were shared to show that he was relaxing at home with his pets.

The prime minister had recently said that the opposition rallies would not harm him but would endanger lives of the people as the chances of spread of coronavirus increased because of public gatherings.

A couple of days ago, he had urged the opposition to postpone their protest movement for at least two months to save lives of the people.

On the other hand, the opposition leaders had claimed that the government was uneasy and scared due to the PDM’s plan to march on Islam-abad and that was why they were being contacted by some people in the government.

Interestingly, the prime minister at a press conference in Hyder-abad in 2018 had rejected media reports that he had kicked his pet dog, Sheru, out of his Banigala residence. “My dog Sheru died three to four years ago,” Mr Khan had said, adding that he had five dogs at Banigala, including one called Motu.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2020