PDM Jalsa at Baag e Jinnah Karachi

Pakistan Democratic Alliance holding second anti-government Jalsa at Baag e Jinnah Karachi

Sumera Naz

Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) organized a grand congregation (Jalsa) on the day when a brutal attack was carried out on former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto’s caravan in Karachi on October 18, 2007. The incident caused the death of at least 180 people and 500 were injured. This was the second Jalsa of this alliance (consisting of 11 political parties) held after its first Jalsa which was held in Gujranwala city of Punjab province two days earlier.

The 11-party anti-government alliance staged their second political power show at Baag-e-Jinnah ground of Sindh’s capital Karachi. At this Jalsa, Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and Prime Minister Imran Khan were the centre of criticism; despite warnings from the Prime Minister that he would then be a changed Imran Khan for the opposition, and would give them real tough time in the future, PDM leadership came with even more aggressive behavior.

Subscribe to our Youtube channel Social Factory TV for watching informative videos

A large number of supporters of PDM came from all districts of Sindh as well as different parts of other provinces to make a huge gathering at Baag-e-Jinnah ground. The crowd was charged with parties’ typical songs and anti-government speeches. Although former Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif could not deliver his speech PTM leader Mohsin Dawar did almost the same thing which Nawaz Sharif did while addressing PDM Jalsa at Gujranwala two days before on Friday. Mohsin Dawar thanked PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for inviting him to present his case ── he was given a big platform of Karachi where a huge number of Pashtun population lives ── for propagation against the country’s establishment.

Chairmen and some top central leaders of the country’s 11 political parties participated in the Jalsa program, they delivered their speeches against the PTI government and Imran Khan with the narrative that the government has failed to resolve issues of poverty, unemployment, and inflation. But they could not refrain themselves from criticizing the role of the establishment in the country’s politics, nonetheless, they were somehow restrained in this regard, and most of the time they focused on Prime Minister Imran Khan.

At the end of the program, Maryam Nawaz Sharif (vice-President PML-N), Bilawal Bhutto (Chairman PPP), and Molana Fazul ur Rehman (patron-in-chief of JUI-F) paid tribute to the Karsaz martyrs and criticized the Prime Minister. Maryam Nawaz was warmly welcomed in Karachi by PML’s (N) activists.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Capt. (Retd) Safdar along with hundreds of party workers visited the mausoleum of the founder of Pakistan Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, laid floral wreath on the grave but soon after the atmosphere at the mausoleum changed. PML-N leader and husband of Maryam Nawaz, Capt. (Retd) Safdar started chanting political slogans inside the tomb, which is prohibited as per the Constitution of Pakistan.

Widespread anger was expressed by the public and different political figures; the Federal government also took quick notice of the incident but there was no action taken by the concerned Sindh government. After the PDM Jalsa was finished, local police conducted a raid at the hotel where Capt. Safdar and Maryam Nawaz were staying and detained him. The first investigation report has also been registered against Capt. Safdar, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, and others at Police Station of the jurisdiction. PML-N vice President Maryam Nawaz shared a tweet saying that police had broken her room’s door when she was asleep and took Capt. Safdar into custody.

 

PML-N leader Zubair Ahmed has told the media reporters a very strange story about registration of the FIR in Capt. Safdar’s case; he said he was told by the Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah that IG Police (Sindh) was kidnapped by Federal Law Enforcement Agencies after he refused to register FIR against Maryam Nawaz and Capt. Safdar.

Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Haider Zaidi condemned Zubair Ahmed’s statement and shared some tweets in this case.

In another tweet, in reply to Zubair Ahmed’s bizarre accusations, he said that if arresting a criminal is state terrorism then what was the Model Town massacre committed by Punjab Police under Shahbaz Sharif’s provincial government.

Ali Zaidi also criticized Sindh Police over deleting their tweet of arresting Capt. Safdar.

 

Maryam Nawaz Sharif while addressing Prime Minister Imran Khan said that “Billion tree tsunami is your accomplishment, rising inflation is your accomplishment, disrespect for women is your accomplishment, gang-rape is your accomplishment, and a suicide attack on the economy is your accomplishment”. Being unaware of the International Law, slamming the premier for providing a lawyer to Indian Spy Kulbhushan, Maryam said: "You pray for Modi's success and look for a government lawyer for Kulbhushan, and blame the Opposition for speaking Modi's language.”

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in his address warned that Pakistan Democratic Alliance is waging a war on the PTI-led government, which, according to him, has destroyed the country’s economy and failed to address the public issues like inflation, poverty, and corruption. He further said "A conspiracy to separate Karachi from Sindh is preparing, the Rs1,000bn package for development of the metropolitan is a scam", he also demanded that the ordinance for the development of Sindh’s islands should be rejected in the Senate.

JUI-F’s head and PDM’s chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who criticized the Pakistan Army and its political role during the last and first PDM Jalsa held at Gujranwala, defined in his second address the purpose of PDM as to restore the free democratic atmosphere. He blamed the PTI government and the Prime Minister pressurized them to surrender and tried to scare and bribe them to withdraw the PDM movement, but they remained steadfast to their jointly-formulated motive. Like his previous narrative, while staging a sit-in against the PTI-government in Islamabad, he reiterated that the PTI government would not be acceptable to them at any cost.

Two days earlier, Bilawal Bhutto, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and others used very harsh words for Pakistan Army and the Prime Minister. Pakistan’s former premier Nawaz Sharif blasted the country’s key institutions, in his unfitting speech, he held the Army responsible for every trouble he and his party leaders suffered before and after his government. In a timely reaction, the Prime Minister made it clear while talking to Tiger Force Convention, that no one would get NRO anymore and from now, he will lead the accountability process from the front.