LAHORE: Sadaqat got puzzled when a group of men and women carrying national flags signalled him to pull over as he was driving by Ichhra.

Bewildered, he applied the brakes and stopped by the group. Heartened to see their pleasant expressions, he lowered the window to check why he had been asked to stop.

To his surprise, the group led by PML-N’s Mian Tariq and Salahuddin Pappi offered him a national flag for putting up on his car as well as half a dozen flag badges for his family. He was also given a bundle of buntings for decorating his house on the Independence Day.

Know more: PML-N, PTI gear up for Aug 14

The PML-N had arranged such ‘camps’ at 15 different points in the city for a day on Wednesday as part of the Independence Day celebrations. This was seen by many as one of the tactics to divert the public’s attention from preparations the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was making for its “long march”.

The PTI had also set up camps at three points: on Walton Road, Askari 9 and Cantonment. The purpose was to register motorcyclists who wished to join the party’s march on their two-wheelers. Teams were also being sent to surrounding neighbourhoods for conveying party messages to mobilise the public.

Various MNAs and MPAs had been directed to handle the PML-N camps. Khawaja Imran Nazeer was at the Shahdara camp, Waseem Qadir Mori Gate, Bilal Yasin at Charing Cross, Rana Mashhood at Moon Market (Gulshan-i-Ravi), Tauseef Shah at Moon Market (Iqbal Town), Akhtar Rasool at Ichhra, Khwaja Salman at Model Town Park, Mohsin Lateef At Garhi Shahu, Saiful Malook Khokhar at Wapda Town, Mehr Ishtiaq at Liaquat Chowk and Waheed Gul at Fatehgarh.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2014