Pakistan braces for another tense day on Monday due to planned protest by key government ally
The Hindu
Pakistan is bracing for another tense day on Monday due to a planned protest by a key government ally. Read the full story on The Hindu.
After an eerie calm over the weekend, Pakistan was bracing for another tense day on Monday due to a planned protest by a key government ally, the Supreme Court taking up a plea against its order to hold election on May 14 and former prime minister Imran Khan appearing in a high court.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), headed by Maulana Fazlur Rehman and including about a dozen parties, announced on May 12 to hold a protest rally outside the apex court’s building against its alleged partiality towards 70-year-old Khan who was set free by it after arrest in a corruption case.
The protest by the largest coalition partner of the government comes as the authorities imposed a ban on political gatherings in the federal capital and also the military had been deployed to control any violence.
The protest planned to be held in Islamabad’s Red Zone would raise serious questions about government policy of stopping rivals like Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf from political activity in the capital and looking the other way when its own partners bring protesters.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that reports provided by security agencies about the protest were “very alarming” and asked the organisers to change the venue.
"We are scared that if the protest is held in the Red Zone tomorrow, the Islamabad police have said that it will be difficult to control the protesters. So, I and Ishaq Dar (Finance Minister) went to Fazlur Rehman and requested him to hold the protest outside the Red Zone,” he said at a press conference.
The minister hoped that the Maulana would accept the request.