Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (JUP) leader Maulana Owais Noorani was on Monday barred from speaking during the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) rally in Multan. The revelation was made by Maulana himself after he made the disclosure via a message on the micro-blogging site, Twitter.
https://twitter.com/iamowaisnoorani/status/1333407486448164866?s=20
Owais Noorani said that he was invited from the stage three times to address the public gathering, however, guards wearing grey and black uniform did not allow him to go up to the stage.
He lamented the attitude meted out to him and said that all PDM leaders are facing a similar security risk. “The PPP leaders alone are not facing the security issues,” he said while expressing his annoyance over the disrespect meted out to him.
Notably, Maulana Shah Owais Noorani demanded an independent Balochistan in Quetta while addressing a rally of PDM. “We want Balochistan as an independent state. Today, Balochistan looks like an underdeveloped area of the country,” Maulana Owais Noorani said.
Later on, Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal criticized the remarks of Owais Noorani during the PDM rally in Quetta and asked if it was a PDM or a BJP-ruling party of India-rally, media reported.
Owais Noorani called for establishing Balochistan as a separate state, the chief minister said in a message posted on micro-blogging site, Twitter, asking as to whose narrative they were carrying forward.
Read more: Who is advising senior leadership of PPP and PML-N to postpone PDM’s rallies?
Jam kamal also lamented the PDM leadership for terming Balochistan as a small province and said that they should stop such rhetoric as all provinces of the country are equal and rather Balochistan is the biggest province of the country. “Their remarks prove that they consider Balochistan as a small province,” he said.
Separately, Adviser to Prime Minister on Political Communication Shahbaz Gill while sharing the section 125 and 126 of the constitution on his Twitter account said that Owais Noorani and the PDM have committed a severe violation of the constitution.
“They spoke of breaking up the state,” he said and demanded of the lawyer bodies and bar councils to now come forward against it. Shahbaz Gill further announced that they would not allow anyone to attack the country and Imran Khan would single-handedly led the fight against such elements.
It is pertinent to mention here that the PDM on Monday held a power show in Multan, addressed by top leadership including Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Maryam Nawaz, and Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Aseefa addressed PDM rally
Addressing the rally for the first time from the PDM platform, PPP leader Aseefa Bhutto Zardari on Monday said that they were not afraid of arrests and vowed that she would stand alongside the party activists in testing times.
While paying a tribute to the martyrs of the PPP on the foundation day of the party, Aseefa Bhutto said that she was among the party activists at a time when Bilawal has contracted Covid-19.
“I hope that you will support Bilawal Bhutto in a similar manner as you have supported Dukhtar-e-Mashriq [Benazir Bhutto],” she said adding that they would not be deterred by the arrests of the party activists.
Read more: How has COVID-19 exposed PDM’s leadership?
The daughter of former President Asif Zardari said that even if Bilawal Bhutto would be arrested then women activists of the party would lead the movement from the front.
PDM’s poor show
Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar on Monday said that the opposition alliance under Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) failed to hold an impressive power show in Multan despite the removal of hurdles by the government.
“The opposition parties were only able to gather a few thousand people,” he said during a meeting with provincial minister Fayyaz ul Hassan Chohan and added that the power show in Multan flopped badly and had conveyed a clear message of rejection from the people of South Punjab.
He said that the PDM is an unnatural alliance of the opposition and is only aimed at safeguarding their looted wealth. “They have nothing to do with the issues of the masses,” he said.
Usman Buzdar said that the PTI has given a new recognition to South Punjab as they have established a separate secretariat for the area to facilitate the masses.
Now people in South Punjab are able to resolve their issues at the local level rather than traveling to Lahore, he said adding that the government could not be sent packing through these activities of the PDM and they would complete their tenure.
It is pertinent to mention here that Inspector General of Police (IGP) Punjab Inam Ghani ordered the removal of containers placed on the roads leading towards PDM public gathering.