Daily Times

Lahore: Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz were arrested on arrival at the Lahore airport on Friday night.

A National Accountability Bureau (NAB) team took the two into custody from the aircraft, and their passports were confiscated by officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

A special plane later took them to Islamabad where they were transferred to the infamous Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

The flight carrying the former PM and his daughter from Abu Dhabi to Lahore arrived with a delay of over two hours.

Addressing the media at the Abu Dhabi airport, Nawaz had lashed out at the authorities in the country for ‘turning Pakistan into a battleground’. He said there were blockades everywhere and people were being arrested just because they wanted to exercise their constitutional rights. “The elections are 10 days away. Is this how things happen in the lead up to elections?” he asked, maintaining that his party would not accept election results if their credibility could not be established. “My resolve cannot be shaken and I am ready to be arrested,” Nawaz said before boarding the Lahore-bound aircraft.

Meanwhile, despite attempts by the caretaker setup in the Punjab to minimise turn out, a last minute change of strategy enabled the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership to gather a huge crowd at its rally held on Friday to express solidarity with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz on their return to the country.

Speaking to Daily Times, Saira Afzal Tarrar, the party’s candidate in NA-87 Hafizabad, said that in view of the countrywide crackdown on party’s workers, the plan to reach Lahore in the form of processions was abandoned on Thursday night.

“I left for Lahore at around 2am last night in an unmarked car. All candidates from various parts of the country traveled to Lahore in nondescript cars overnight to make it to the venue,” she said, adding that the initial plan required candidates from various constituencies to lead processions to Lahore.

Tarrar said she had received information on Thursday that the names of at least 160 PML-N workers in Hafizabad were on the list prepared by the caretaker administration for arrests.

That the party’s strategy worked well was visible from the sizeable crowd gathered on Circular Road in front of the Lohari Gate. Even before the arrival of PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif, the road was jam-packed with party supporters in cars and motorcycles from Shah Alam to Bhati Gate.

Sharif reached the venue with a convoy of vehicles from the Bansa Wala Bazaar area. As soon as news about his arrival spread, a crowd gathered around his and Hamza Shehbaz’s vehicles, chanting ‘dekho dekho kaun aya, sher aya sher aya’.

The Sharifs were followed by Khawaja Saad Rafique, who appeared from the sunroof of his while-coloured SUV to wave to the supporters, many of whom recognised him as an old resident of the Lohari Gate area.

Prominent among other party leaders who could be seen at the Lohari Gate area were Maryam Aurangzeb, Talal Chaudhry, Mushahid Hussain Syed, Khurram Dastagir Khan, Bilal Yasin, Senator Pervaiz Rashid, veteran politician Javed Hashmi, Azad Jammu and Kashmir prime minister Raja Farooq Haider, Gilgit Baltistan chief minister Hafeezur Rehman, Senator Saleem Zia from Sindh, Senator Rana Mahmoodul Hasan from Multan, former speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Iqbal, Khawaja Imran Nazir, and Dr Musadiq Malik.

Addressing the crowd using a loudspeaker from inside his vehicle, Shehbaz Sharif said, “Today, you have won my heart with your love and affection. I have served you and now I will serve your future generations as well.”

As the rally reached Bhati Gate, it was joined by a sizeable group of workers from Hamza Shehbaz’s constituency. As the numbers swelled, the rally’s pace slowed down. It took over two hours for Shehbaz Sharif’s vehicle to cover the meagre distance between Bhati Gate and Upper Mall at Nasir Bagh.

By around 8pm, the rally had reached only as far as the GPO Chowk with its tail end still at near the Darbar area. Thousands of supporters joined the rally on cars and motorcycles, as others stood at the median on Lower and Upper Mall to cheer their leaders.

Separately, around 3,000 party supporters led by PML-N candidates Afzal Khokar, Rana Mubashar, and Saif Khokhar reached the Lahore Airport through the Ring Road at around 8pm. The contingent stayed there till around 10pm and left on hearing that the authorities had taken Nawaz and Maryam under arrest. The main rally had yet to arrive at the airport.

Convoys from Sialkot led by former defence minister Khwaja Asif were unable to join as the Rangers prevented Asif from leaving the city.

With additional reporting by Hamid Riaz

Published in Daily Times, July 14^th 2018.