PDM to Hold Rallies and Defy Government Ban

Despite the alarming rise in the number of coronavirus cases, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has decided to hold its rallies as per the schedule. On Tuesday, the 11-party opposition alliance announced that their rallies will not be postponed under any circumstances. Just recently, the government placed a ban on large public gatherings however, the opposition could not care less. 

PDM has also vowed to ensure that the PTI government is removed from office before the beginning of the new year. They rejected the results of the elections held in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, where PTI swooped in and grabbed the victory as the ruling party. 

The leaders of the opposition alliance also set up a meeting in Islamabad. During this gathering, the members formed a committee of five members and entrusted them with the responsibility of finalizing the ‘Charter of Pakistan’. It will be signed by the leaders of all 11 constituent parties when the alliance gathers in public on the 13th of December in Lahore. 

The Chief of JUI-F, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, is also the president of the PDM. He addressed reporters after the meeting and stated that the party will not accept the decision of the government to suspend rallies. He believes that the coronavirus is being used as a pretext to ban public gatherings and consequently, their rallies. 

According to the president, these restrictions were placed only after the results of the G-B elections surfaced. He said that a day before the announcement of the leading party, PTI itself had been holding rallies.

PDM is of the opinion that the ban has been imposed solely to ensure that they do not go out into the streets to protest. The members believe that the government is afraid of their power. Fazlur Rehman declared that the rallies will not be stopped until PTI vacates the offices it occupies. 

The rallies have been scheduled to be held this month. On 22nd of November, the PDM will hold a rally in Peshawar and then on 30th of November in Multan. Another rally will be held in Lahore on the 13th of December. Previously, the opposition alliance held rallies in Quetta, Gujranwala, and Karachi. 

The JUI-F Chief, accompanied by the other leaders of PDM, said that they had rejected the results of the elections in G-B. It is their belief that the polls were rigged and the win was just a ‘repeat’ of the general elections of 2018. 

The president of the opposition alliance went on to claim that the elections were stolen from the citizens by way of using the resources of the state. 

The committee formed by the PDM comprised of Khurram Dastgir and Ahsan Iqbal from PML-N, Raza Rabbani, Murtaza Kamran, and Sherry Rehman from PPP, so that the ‘Charter of Pakistan’ could be finalized. They believed that it will help them reinstate ‘real’ democracy in Pakistan. 

Surprisingly, the 11-party opposition alliance has agreed on more than a dozen goals. Amongst these are ensuring the protection and supremacy of democratic, federal, Islamic, and parliamentary constitution.