LAHORE: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) plans to extend its protest to all towns adjoining Gujranwala in case its leadership is arrested before the first public meeting of the 11-party alliance to be held in Gujranwala on Oct 16.

Senior leaders of the opposition alliance say though chances of their arrest are dim, they have given a contingency plan to all concerned about the post-arrest situation.

“The post-arrest strategy will be finalised at the Oct 15 meeting of the PDM, but as a contingency plan, participants from Gujrat, Sheikhupura, Sialkot and Lahore and other areas heading to the public meeting venue in Gujranwala have been directed to stage sit-ins on main roads of the towns they will be in at that time for spreading the impact of the protest to the entire region,” a senior leader tells Dawn.

Wary of any unconstitutional move in the wake of a deteriorated law and order situation during the anti-government campaign, the opposition is trying to avoid any chance of a clash between political activists and members of law-enforcement agencies or between opposition and PTI workers.

A PML-N leader claims that Senator Pervaiz Rashid has been tasked with seeing that the situation does not lead to any clash which, the N-Leaguer believes, is the wish of the ruling PTI to pit the opposition against members of law-enforcement agencies.

The Gujranwala deputy commissioner has not yet given a nod to the opposition’s request for holding its public meeting at Jinnah Stadium.

Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, a seasoned politician from Multan, says these are routine tactics of the administration to delay the permission until the 11th hour for giving minimum time to organisers for making arrangements for any such gathering.

Recalling his past experiences, he says water may be released into the stadium to stop the opposition from holding the show of force there, but this will go against the government itself as the GT Road will prove to be a better venue for the meeting giving the impression of a larger gathering.

Another PML-N leader says Mian Nawaz Sharif will address the Gujranwala meeting through a satellite link and arrangements are being made in this regard.

He says that Ms Maryam Nawaz Sharif will lead a rally for Gujranwala from her Jati Umra residence and its route, whether it should pass through downtown or bypass the city, is yet to be decided.

On the other hand, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will lead a rally from Lalamusa, where he will reach from Islamabad a day before.

His rally will make about half-an-hour stoppage at Wazirabad, where a PPP candidate is contesting by-poll for a Punjab Assembly seat.

PPP caravans from Sialkot, Sheikhupura and Lahore will directly reach the venue instead of joining the chairman’s rally.

Political observers expect a good show of the opposition for Gujranwala is a citadel of the PML-N after Lahore as it had bagged all six National Assembly seats from there in the 2018 polls. The JUI-F, third largest component of the PDM, controls a big seminary with a 15,000-student strength right in the downtown besides enjoying a sizable following in the town as it had won a National Assembly seat back in 2002 elections from the area.

The PPP that had been ruling the town until the 1980s is also trying to put up a better show though, as one of its leaders says, it has so far mobilised only its cadre and not the general public for the Oct 16 meeting.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2020