Shujaat urges calling off D-Chowk rallies; Fawad insists rally will be peaceful

PML-Q president says rallies by govt, opposition will divide people already struggling with inflation and poverty

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) President Chaudhry Shujaat has urged the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party and the joint opposition to call off their respective rallies, scheduled to be held at Islamabad’s D-Chowk ahead of a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the National Assembly.

In a statement on Tuesday, Shujaat called on both the sides to instantly cancel their rallies in the “greater interest of the country”.

“Given the current situation in Pakistan, [we] cannot afford this dangerous confrontation,” he said, adding that “the politics of rallies and numbers” by the both sides had disturbed the people already beset by inflation and poverty.

Meanwhile, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that Chaudhry Shujaat was a respectable individual and the premier had always respected him and his opinion. In a tweet on Tuesday, he said that PTI was a democratic party and did not believe in politics of confrontation. He said the purpose of the meeting in Islamabad was not confrontation.

The minister went on to say that the opposition was welcome to hold a rally of their own if it would be a peaceful one. He said the government would facilitate it as it could be an important means of gauging public opinion.