QUETTA: Haji Ali Madad Jattak, president of the Pakistan People Party (PPP)’s Balochistan chapter, has said that the coming pubic meeting of the Pakistan Democratic Movement in Quetta would prove a big setback to the “selected” prime minister and his spokesmen.

Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, he said that two earlier successful public meetings of the PDM had caused the rulers to have sleepless nights. After the third rally in Quetta on Oct 25, the jobs of the “selected prime minister and his hired spokesperson will be in jeopardy”.

Mr Jattak said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would “become unemployed in a month”.

He said that Mr Khan claimed in the past that he would resign if even 500 people took to the streets to protest against him. “Did he not see hundreds of thousands of people in Gujranwala and Karachi?” the PPP leader asked.

Says people are fed up with unemployment and rising prices of food items

A week ago, he said, the “hired spokesmen” had predicted at a press conference that the PDM meetings would fail and people would not participate in them.

“I challenge these spokesmen and the government to seal the city of Quetta four days before the meeting (if they want to stop people from taking part in the rally)”, he said.

He said that the people were fed up with unemployment, rising prices of food items and frequent increase in electricity, gas and water bills.

“Traders are supporting the PDM. Every section of society is with the PDM. It has become the voice of the people,” he said.

Mr Jattak deplored that sedition cases were being registered against opposition leaders in the country.

“The patriots facing treason cases have fled the country while traitors are living here and talking about serving the people and solving their problems,” he added.

He criticised those people who were hoisting pro-government banners in the city, saying that they were “seasonal birds” who had done the same job for every party in the past.

The PPP leader said that some contractors had put up the banners in Quetta to appease the government. “These people have been with every ruling party in the past and they switch loyalties whenever a change takes place,” he said.

“It is impossible to compete with the 53-year struggle of PPP. The party does not look at the direction of the wind but respects the opinion of the people,” he said.

“If we were to walk in the direction of the wind, we might be like government spokesmen, but we have always pursued the politics of salvation of the people and solution of their problems”.

“There is record corruption in the country. If we were thieves, we would have been behind bars today,” the PPP leader said.

On this occasion, Wadera Surat Khan Bugti, an elder of Bugti tribe, announced that he had joined the PPP along with his tribal supporters. Mr Jattak welcomed him in the party and said that with his joining the PPP would get more support in Sui, one of the tribal districts of Balochistan.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2020