Daily Times

RAWALPINDI: The Chairman Awami Muslim League (AML) andthe Member National Assembly, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, on Friday despite hurdle screated by the government reached his political secretariat, Lal Haveli, and announced to cancel his public rally convened about the November 2 sit-in of PTI.

While talking to the media at Committee Chowk on Friday, the Chairman AML has levelled an allegation on the government that as many as 450 activists of the PTI, the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and the AML have been taken into custody by the Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) adding that the personnel of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Special Branch in plain clothes are not only apprehending the political activists but subjecting to severe torture and even conducting raids on their houses.

“The workers dealing with iron hands were security personnel wearing plain clothes and we would put these security personnel responsible of physical torture on our workers in jail along with PM Nawaz Sharif,” he advised.

He said that Friday’s protest had proved that people wanted to get rid of this corrupt system and an ocean of people would emerge on November 2.

He further said after reaching at 3pm at the Committee Chowk, he hadfulfilled the promise made with the nation and now the PM could witness that I have fulfilled my promise. He added that the PM said that I will remove myself from scene but I have reached at the desired destination while crossing all hurdles and constraints. “If any security personnel in plain clothes lost his life then we would not be responsible as such people cause major incidents like Model Town fiasco,” he warned.

Sheikh Rashid has expressed grave grief and sorrow that the houses of “our brothers and sisters were being raided by the police adding that it is our crime that we talk about upholding democracy and accountability.

Terming the security personnel responsible for the arrest of political workers, he asked the media to make footage and pictures of these personnel so that their faces would remain on record as “we want to take revenge from these personnel as per law”.

The Chairman, AML, has termed Rana Sanaullah as the mouthpiece of PM Nawaz Sharif and said that it was not a position of the public rally as now an ocean of people would emerge on roads on November 2. He said, “Our workers are still on the roads but when PM Nawaz Shairfwould be arrested, no one would come on the road to rescue or release him.

The Rawalpindi Police placed containers and blocked the Committee Chowk, Teli Mohalla, College Road, Fawara Chowk and all the avenues leading to Lal Haveli.

Sheikh Rashid Ahmad started making rounds of the localities around Lal Haveli in different vehicles from Friday morning to review the situation. But no enthusiasm was demonstrated by the workers.

A heavy contingent of police was deployed at 12hrs at the Committee Chowk Underpass and outside Lal Haveli. Some workers assembled outside Darbar Tahlian Shah on Murree Road and chanted slogans but the police foiled their bids by dispersing them through baton charging and tear gas shelling.

However Sheikh Rashid reached Committee Chowk by riding on a motorcycle of a party worker near 15:30 hrs via streets. He spoke to media men therein and later disappeared from the scene.

It may be recalled that Sheikh Rashid Ahmad had announced to hold a public meeting outside Lal Haveli in the perspective of the November 2 sit-in and Imran Khan, the chief of the PTI was also to address it.

Stringent security measures were taken by the district management and the police to maintain the law and order situation and avert any untoward situation in view of the announcement made by Sheikh Rashid for holding a public meeting outside Lal Haveli.

The Metro bus service was suspended between Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The public transport also remained next to nil on the roads and the government employees and students had to face enormous difficulties in travelling from Rawalpindi to Islamabad and back. The district management had already imposed Section 144 and a ban was imposed on any assembly of people at anyplace. All the business and commercial centres were closed on Murree Road and other areas of Rawalpindi city as the day was Friday which is a holiday observed by several traders and shopkeepers.