ISLAMABAD: The vice president of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) party, Maryam Nawaz, called planned anti-government protests a ‘struggle’ for people’s rights, as she and the chairman of a newly formed opposition alliance left the city of Lahore for Gujranwala on Friday to lead street protests aimed at putting pressure on the government to call early elections.
“This is not just struggle of the people, but also for your rights,” Nawaz told supporters before departing for Gujranwala. "We are out on the streets for the rights of 220 million people.”
“Police and administration should not stand in our way,” she added.
Opposition parties recently formed an alliance — the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — which will address public gatherings across the country in the next several weeks. The first rally will be held in the city of Gujranwala today, followed by rallied in Karachi on October 18 and Quetta on October 25.
The government has formally announced that the opposition alliance can hold its gatherings at specifically designated spots. Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said the government had allowed the rallies as “protest is the right of every political party.”
PM Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf ruling party came to power in August 2018 after defeating all major opposition parties. The opposition alliance has, however, said the party won a rigged election, which the government denies.
Religious party leader and PDM chairman Maulana Fazlur Rahman told supporters and media ahead of the Gujranwala rally: "We all are committed and united to restore the sanctity of the vote. We don't have personal enmity with anyone, but want to ensure that Pakistan belongs to the people of Pakistan.”
“We are out to remove an unelected parliament,” he said, calling for early general elections.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, ex-premier and senior leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party, said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who heads the PMLN, would address the gathering through a video link.
Convicted in 2018 in corruption cases, Sharif is currently in London on medical bail, though local courts have issued his arrest warrants and directed the government to bring him back to face corruption cases.
The opposition alliance was given permission to hold the public gathering after the Gujranwala district administration and the alliance reached a 28-point agreement, which includes following strict coronavirus standard operating procedures at the venue. Protest leaders cannot make speeches at any place other than inside Jinnah Stadium. In case of the violation of the agreement, the district administration has said it will take appropriate action, including by filing police cases against protest leaders.
Last major anti-government protests were held in Pakistan in August 2014 by current prime minister Imran Khan, a hero cricket player turned politician, and firebrand cleric Tahir ul-Qadri who camped on the streets of Islamabad for over three months trying to bring down the then government of PM Nawaz Sharif.
Those protests descended into deadly chaos on one night, with demonstrators clashing with police in a central area near many government buildings and embassies. Three people were killed.
Sharif, who was toppled by the army in a 1999 coup but staged a comeback with a big election win in May 2013, had refused to quit while protest leaders rejected his offers of talks, creating a dangerous deadlock.
Khan called off the protests in December after gunmen attacked a school in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing 134 students.
'This is struggle for people’s rights,' Maryam Nawaz says ahead of opposition protest
https://arab.news/g4c52
'This is struggle for people’s rights,' Maryam Nawaz says ahead of opposition protest
- Opposition parties recently formed the Pakistan Democratic Movement to build pressure on the government to call early elections
- First public rally in Gujranwala today, followed by gatherings later this month in Karachi and Quetta
Pakistan reviews austerity measures amid Middle East crisis, urges strict nationwide implementation
- Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar chairs review meeting of austerity steps
- Officials briefed on salary cuts, school closures, four‑day week, petrol conservation
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government on Wednesday assessed progress on a sweeping set of austerity measures introduced to mitigate the country’s economic strain from sharply rising global oil prices and supply disruptions linked to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week announced a series of austerity steps, including a four‑day work week for government offices, requiring 50 percent of staff to work from home, cutting fuel allowances for official vehicles by half, grounding up to 60 percent of the government fleet and closing all schools for two weeks to conserve fuel amid the global oil crisis.
The measures were unveiled in response to global oil market volatility triggered by the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which has disrupted supply routes such as the Strait of Hormuz and pushed crude prices sharply higher, straining Pakistan’s heavily import‑dependent energy sector.
“The meeting stressed the importance of strict and transparent adherence to the austerity measures, promoting fiscal responsibility and prudent use of public resources,” Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar said in a statement.
He was chairing a meeting of the Committee for Monitoring and Implementation of Conservation and Additional Austerity Measures, constituted under the directions of the PM, bringing together federal and provincial officials to review execution of the broad cost‑cutting plan.
Dar emphasized the government’s commitment to enforcing the PM’s austerity steps nationwide. The committee’s review also covered reductions in departmental expenditure, deductions from salaries of senior officials earning over Rs. 300,000 ($1,120), and coordination with provincial administrations to ensure uniform implementation of the plan.
Participants at the meeting reiterated that all ministries and divisions must continue strict monitoring and reporting, with transparent oversight mechanisms, as Pakistan navigates the economic pressures from the prolonged Middle East crisis and its fallout on global energy and trade markets.
