LAHORE: “If the government keeps blocking the country’s largest party from holding public rallies and meetings, some `event’ may happen,” says Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar.

Speaking at a news conference at Lahore Press Club on Monday, Mr Bhachar said the PML-N government was propagating that allowing Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) to protest might lead to another May 9. Stating that some 50,000 people went to Swabi for a PTI public meeting and not a single flower pot was broken in all Punjab districts, the opposition leader alleged “any uncalled-for event would be a mischievous act by the incumbent government”.

He said a large number of parliamentarians, party leaders, and workers would go to Islamabad on August 22 to participate in the party’s public meeting. Afterwards, he said, the party would hold its already announced public meeting in Lahore next week.

Mr Bhachar said the party had taken a stance and reiterated that a judicial commission be established to investigate the May 9 events. He also asserted that a large number of party leaders and workers were arrested, and the government had failed to establish any charge against those incarcerated for over 15 months. “The government destroyed youth and their families without presenting any concrete evidence against them. Let those be free who have eventually been released after contesting all cases and getting bails from courts,” he stated.

The opposition leader said the incumbent rulers should look towards the plight of the general public, who were dying due to high inflation and inflated power and gas bills. He said the government slowed down the internet, which led to joblessness for those earning through freelancing on the internet.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2024