LAHORE: To express solidarity with Pakistan People’s Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, protest demonstrations were held against Narendra Modi while effigies of the Indian prime minister were burnt in the Punjab capital as well.

PPP diehard workers led by Lahore chapter president Chaudhry Aslam Gul assembled outside the press club. They chanted slogans against Modi terming him the butcher of Gujarat.

Mr Gul said they were holding the demonstration to show solidarity with PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto, who boldly challenged Modi and called him a terrorist. “Bilawal Bhutto challenged Modi in the USA and termed him a butcher of Gujarat.”

He said effigies of Modi were burnt on behalf of the people of Lahore.

He recalled that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan had, as prime minister of Pakistan, prayed for the success of Modi in Indian elections asserting that the Kashmir issue would be resolved provided Modi came into power.

Mr Gul lambasted Imran Khan alleging that the former premier wanted to destroy the country.

Acting Punjab president Rana Farooq Saeed, information secretary Shahzad Saeed Cheema, Ahmed Jawad Farooq Rana, Faisal Mir, Jameel Manj, Sonia Khan, Azizur Rahman Chan, Allama Yusuf Awan, Edwin Sahotra, and others were also present.Rallies were also held in Okara, Sahiwal and other districts.

In Sahiwal, Zaki Chaudhry, the district president of the party, addressing the participants, said India was not run by the parliament but by the fascist regime of Modi-led RSS. The protest rally moved from Azadi Chowk to Press Club Sahiwal. They burnt an effigy of Modi too.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2022