BAHAWALPUR: Pakistan Democratic Movement leader and PML-N former provincial law minister, MNA Rana Sanaullah, has said that the second phase of the movement would be launched from Bahawalpur with a protest rally on Jan 3, 2021.

He was talking to media at the residence of former senator Saood Majid Chaudhry here on Thursday.

Rana Sanaullah said PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz would lead the rally in the city while other leaders including, PDM chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman and PPP’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, were also expected.

He said after the completion of the second phase of rallies in various cities of the province, the third and final round would be of long march on Islamabad.

He said with the strength of workers, PDM successfully organised a big public meeting in Multan while he claimed that there were no Covid cases after the Gujranwala rally. However, Rana admitted that in Lahore’s rally, there was some ‘mismanagement’.

Replying to a question, Sanaullah said if there was no massive public participation in the PDM’s rallies, then why were the ministers worried. He said former chief minister Shehbaz Sharif had unnecessarily and without valid reasons been implicated in cases as he (Shehbaz) had distributed his property among his children.

He also raised his voice in support of Khokhar brothers in Lahore and said that the NAB, FIA and anti-corruption establishment (ACE) were out to victimise opposition. He also attacked the PTI government’s Tiger Force, which he branded as ‘tout force’ and alleged that it was harassing vendors in bazaars.

TTP MAN HELD: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed on Wednesday night to have arrested a suspected terrorist believed to be a member of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Hasilpur Road.

According to a CTD spokesman, a team on a tip-off conducted a raid at a place on Hasilpur Road and arrested a TTP activist. The spokesman didn’t disclose his name and said he had planned to target some installation in the city.

The CTD claimed to have recovered arms from his possession and shifted him to an unknown place for further interrogation. A case against the suspected terrorist was registered with the CTD police station in Multan on Thursday.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2020