In an apparent allusion to the PTI, Maryam Nawaz, Chief Organiser of PML-N, asserted during the launch of her party’s election campaign in Okara that a “terrorist party” should not be granted an electoral symbol.
The PML-N, after a significant delay, is set to reveal its manifesto for the upcoming February 8 general elections. Over the past two months, the party’s various sub-committees have been diligently working on the manifesto.
PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif had been concerned about his party being labeled as the establishment’s ‘favorite,’ a perception he aimed to dispel during the election campaign, according to an insider source.
Without explicitly mentioning the PTI, Maryam addressed party supporters in Okara, stating, “Sher [lion] can be allotted sher, but a terrorist party cannot be allotted an election symbol like other political parties.”
Maryam went on to dispute the PTI’s claim that their electoral symbol was a ‘bat,’ asserting that it was, in fact, the ‘danda’ (baton) they used against the state of Pakistan and the public. These comments followed the recent decision by the Supreme Court to revoke the PTI’s electoral symbol ‘bat’ and reject its internal election just days before the polls.
According to Maryam, the consequences faced by the PTI were a result of their own actions. She argued that instead of a bat, they had a ‘danda’ in their hands, citing alleged attacks on military installations.
Mockingly, she suggested that the PTI’s electoral symbol should have been the watch they allegedly stole or the petrol bomb they supposedly used against the police.
