MANSEHRA: Workers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz took out a rally here on Monday to protest the Supreme Court’s recent verdict on the assembly reserved seats and express solidarity with Pakistan Army over a smear campaign.

They marched on the Kashmir Road and Abbottabad Road from the press club building to the Khatm-i-Nabuwat Chowk, holding banners and placards and shouting slogans.

PML-N central senior vice-president Sardar Mohammad Yusuf said that the Supreme Court’s “illogical” verdict in the reserved seats case was causing political and economic instability in the country as did the Panama Leaks judgement by a bench led by former Supreme Court chief justice Saqib Nisar.

He said that the SC ruling awarded reserved seats in the assemblies to a party, which contested the Feb 8 elections without symbol and didn’t move the court for relief.

Mr Yusuf alleged that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for life and put behind the bars by former CJ Saqib Nisar through “extra-judicial and illogical” decisions.

“There is no room for such judgements, which are meant to destabilise the country,” he said.

The PML-N leader also insisted that a well-organised smear campaign was being carried out against the Pakistan Army.

“This anti-army drive is unacceptable to us,” he said.

Former district nazim Sardar Said Ghulam said that the country had suffered a lot from “illogical” court decisions.

He said that the country was on the way to development under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif but it wasn’t acceptable to certain political forces.

PPP RE-ORGANISATION: Pakistan Peoples Party provincial general secretary Shujah Salim Khan on Monday said the leadership had decided to re-organise the party at grassroots level in the province.

“We’re going to hold the workers’ conventions and gatherings in Mansehra, Abbottabad and other parts of Hazara Division to mobilise support,” Mr Khan told reporters here.

The PPP leader said the recent party appointments in Hazara Division were part of the party’s re-organisation drive.

He said that party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari held workers in high esteem.

Mr Khan said that the people of Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur, and Kohistan districts supported the party’s policies and voted for its candidates in the last general elections.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2024