GUJRAT: The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML–N) has decided to hold its public rally scheduled for May 15 at the same venue -- Kotla Arab Ali town -- in the district, where the party Quaid Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam had addressed a mammoth public gathering on March 4, 2018.

PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz and Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz will speak at the March 4 rally for which the party’s local cadres have started preparations across the district.

PML-N sources say some local party leaders have questioned selection of Kotla as the venue for the rally, instead of holding the show at Gujrat city, suggesting Zahoor Elahi Cricket Stadium or GTS Chowk as alternate venues for the event.

They also complain the leadership had neither consulted the local chapter, nor the ticket-holders of national and provincial assemblies constituencies, before deciding the venue.

Sources in Kotla group say that the venue had been selected by the PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif himself since he had already witnessed a good crowd when he addressed a rally at the same ground four years ago. Addressing a party leaders meeting through video-link from London, Mr Sharif directed the Gujranwala division president Abid Raza Kotla, the lone party MNA from Gujrat district, to arrange the rally in his native town, the sources say.

A meeting of local party officials, held at Mr Raza’s residence, recently discussed the arrangements for the rally and assigned targets to the ticket-holders to bring maximum number of people from their respective areas to the rally.

However, the sources say, the party leaders from Gujrat city, including former mayor Haji Nasir Mehmood and the city chapter officials, did not participate in the meeting, reflecting differences among the local party cadres. Mr Mahmood confirmed to Dawn that neither he, nor any of the city officials had been invited to the meeting.

Former MPA Shabeer Kotla says arrangements are being made on a larger scale than those for the March 2018 rally, to ensure maximum participation in the rally. He says that during the last rally, a number of vehicles carrying party workers and supporters had got stuck in traffic mess on their way due to venue. He adds the party had started holding corner meetings across the district to mobilise people for participation in the rally.

Another party official says since Kotla was located on the border of Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Bhimbher district, people from the AJK area were also expected to participate in the power show.

Meanwhile, official sources say the district administration and police have started planning for security and other arrangements for the ruling party’s rally.

The Punjab government had on Friday transferred the deputy commissioner and district police officer of Gujrat. The posting of new officers against the vacated slots is likely to be made within a couple of days, the sources say.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2022