Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: After the Lal Masjid fiasco, Lal Haveli has become the sign of danger for the government as Sheikh Rashid tightened the circle around the federal as well as provincial governments through his political wisdom. After the Lal Masjid operation, the rule of Pervez Musharraf was unstable and in similar fashion on Friday, the police’s utter failure to stop the public rally of Sheikh Rashid has jolted the regime of the Sharif brothers.

On the orders of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the police had started arresting and clashing with the workers from Thursday to prevent the show of power of Sheikh Rashid. The police has arrested hundreds of workers of PTI and Awami Muslim League in the wounded condition.

On Friday, the police cordoned off Lal Haveli by putting contains on all the roads and streets going towards the residence of Awami Muslim League’s president’s residence. The police practically stopped the movement of people, but Sheikh Rashid reached via a motorbike by breaking all the hurdles.

When he climbed on the roof of the DSNG of a private TV channel, he lit his cigar and gave a message to his opponents that he had burnt the throne of the monarch and now it would turn into ashes soon.

People on social media paid rich tributes to Sheikh Rashid for lighting his cigar before making his speech. They also expressed surprise that the government, which claimed a two third majority, was so weak. Sheikh Rashid, in his short speech, not only challenged the rulers but also pointed out that the personnel of special branch in plain clothes were taking away workers of his party.

In Islamabad, the clashes with the workers of PTI and in Rawalpindi the skirmishes with Awami Muslim League’s workers were carried out on the proposal of Federal Minister Railways Khawaja Saad Rafiq. The Prime Minister’s Secretariat has taken the interior minister into confidence regarding what took place in the twin cities because Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan wanted to deal the matter of the sit-in politically.