Sit-in outside The Supreme Court or D-Chowk? PDM to decide it today
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman announce today whether the sit-in will be held outside the Supreme Court of Pakistan or D-Chowk.
The Federal Interior Minister and Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar held two meetings with PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and urged him to change the venue of the sit-in to D-Chowk from outside the Supreme Court building.
However, till late Sunday night, PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman did not agree to it and he said the decision will be announced on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, talking to the media following the last round of meetings with Maulana Fazl late Sunday in Islamabad, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said the PDm chief was empowered to decide about the venue of the protest sit-in.
He said that PDM chief would take the final decision in this regard by morning in consultation with the heads of all allied parties of the ruling alliance.
“Tomorrow’s [Monday] sit-in will be peaceful and a single pot will not be broken,” he added.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri among others were also present on the occasion.
Meanwhile, the federal government urged the chief of the Pakistan Democratic Movement Maulana Fazlur Rehman to shift the venue of his planned sit-in from outside the Supreme Court to D-Chowk.
PDM, the ruling alliance of about 13 political parties, is launching its ‘dharna’ from Monday for an indefinite period, seeking the resignation of chief justice Umar Ata Bandial.
PDM announced the sit-in as a protest against the chief justice for “facilitating” and giving “VIP protocol” to the former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan and a spree of bail in multiple criminal cases.
Many analysts believe that the meeting between the two federal ministers and the PDM chief about the venue of the sit-in was a formality only because they all are on the same page in achieving their political ambitions.
“The government wants the PDM to hold the protest at the D-Chowk,” Dar said, adding that law and order situation was already created a few days ago.
PDM convoys leave for Islamabad
The convoys of thousands of supporters and activists of the political parties in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) departed for Islamabad on Sunday from various cities for a planned sit-in outside the Supreme Court on Monday. The sit-in of the PDM will be for an indefinite period and till the resignation of chief justice Bandial, according to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
The caravans which departed from various cities today are expected to reach Islamabad on Monday.
A file photo of PDM leaders who are ready for a sit-in in Islamabad.
Meanwhile, the chief organizer of PML-N Maryam Nawaz reached Islamabad on Saturday night to represent her party in the sit-in of the PDM. She will also address the participants of ‘dharna’ along with other PDM leaders.
As per available details, the PPP convoy is leaving for Islamabad from Lahore. The party’s information secretary Faiza Malik said the activists and workers left the PPP’s Model Town Secretariat in Lahore at 3 pm today. Ms Malik said that PPP leader Aslam Gill is leading the party’s convoy from Lahore.
PDM sit-in to target resignation of chief justice Bandial
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) is starting its sit-in in Islamabad outside the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday (May 15).
The target of the JUI-F ‘dharna’ will be the resignation of the chief justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial. The JUI-F sit-in is coinciding with the hearing of the election case by the Supreme Court on Monday.
