Bar on Nawaz meeting: PML-N activists protest, scuffle with jail guards

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) activists raised slogans against the government and scuffled with the jail guards on Thursday for not allowing them and the party leaders to meet party supremo Nawaz Sharif, who is serving a jail term after being convicted of corruption by an accountability court.

They attempted to cross the barriers when PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif and other family members were going inside the Kot Lakhpat jail to meet former premier Nawaz Sharif. However, the trouble did not last long and angry workers stopped raising slogans against the PTI leadership and the government.

After the meeting, Shahbaz Sharif addressed the media and the party workers outside the jail on Thursday, the weekly visit day for Nawaz Sharif. He protested against the government orders barring senior party legislators and politicians from meeting the party supremo in jail, and warned that Prime Minister Imran Khan must desist from political victimisation. He told the workers to rest assured that Imran Khan would be held accountable over excesses against the PML-N leaders.

Senior party leaders including Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Khwaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Marriyum Aurengzeb, Khurram Dastgir Khan, Rana Mubashir Iqbal and others were also present outside the jail, but were not allowed to meet Nawaz Sharif by the jail authorities.

Shahbaz Sharif replied to the party workers’ slogans by waving hands. He spoke to them while standing on car’s foot board. He alleged that Imran Khan Niazi had personally ordered the jail authorities not to allow the PML-N leaders and workers to meet Nawaz Sharif. He accused him of being a fascist leader, victimizing the opponents and masses at his whims and wishes, adding that such oppressive tactics would not last long in the face of the courage and spirits of the party leadership and workers. He said “I warn Imran Niazi that time was not far away when he will be standing in the court of people. Then he will be held accountable for every single cruelty meted out to the PML-N leaders and workers.” He said Imran Niazi had deprived jailed Rana Sanaullah of all basic facilities after sending him to jail in a fake narcotics case.

Former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told the media that over 40 leaders including senators and parliamentarians had come to see Nawaz Sharif, but it was the third week that nobody except for the close family members were allowed to see him. He expressed sorrow that country was being ruled by selected prime minister, adding that “we had countered them in the past and will continue to do so in future to fight the case of masses’ rights.”

He lamented that after destroying country’s economy, the Niazi regime was testing the opposition’s patience through fascist tactics. He praised the leadership of Nawaz Sharif and said even inside the jail, his leadership was the focal point of country’s politics. He said Nawaz served the country, solved people’s problems, adding that everybody in the country knew well who was behind the NAB cases and other politically motivated cases. He said the case against Rana Sanaullah was a new addition to black deeds of the fascist regime. He said Rana Sanaullah was a brave leader and would fight every difficulty.

To a question, he said prime minister should give NRO (deal) to his ministers and family members, who had plundered billions of public money, and added that Imran Khan was the main target of the opposition as he had tormented the masses with price-hike, unemployment and IMF slavery.

Khwaja Asif said the fascist regime wanted to cut Nawaz Sharif’s all connections with the outside world, but such tactics were bound to fail. He said Imran Khan was not in a position to offer an NRO to anyone since he himself was sitting in his office due to an NRO. He lamented that despite tall claims by Imran Khan, his new Pakistan had turned out to be worse than the old one. He said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was targeting poor masses and every child in the country was paying taxes. He said the Army chief rightly said that only a strong economy could build a strong defence.

Ahsan Iqbal said it seems that now the PTI government would recover an F-16 from the vehicle of some opposition leader.

Malik Ahmad Khan said Nawaz Sharif was being subjected to state repression, adding that the government could never subjugate the public wishes and aspirations. He said Hamza Shahbaz, Rana Sanaullah were also being politically victimised.