Pakistan:opposition holds rally in Mardan despite restrictions

Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), an 11-party alliance, held a rally in Mardan on Wednesday despite a ban imposed by the district administration amid the COVID-19. The district administration had decided not to allow the opposition leaders to hold the public procession given the rising numbers of coronavirus infections across the country, according to Geo News. The protesters, led by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) and PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz, and senior PPP leader Yousuf Raza Gilani, gathered at Gaju Baba Khan flyover, Geo News reported.

This comes after the PDM demanded Prime Minister Imran Khan-led government to quit by January 31 or face intensified movements by opposition parties such as a long march to Islamabad. “The meeting in Mardan would be followed by another public meeting in Larkana on December 27 on the eve of the death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto,” The News International quoted Mian Iftikhar Hussain, PDM spokesman, as saying.

The PDM decided to focus on smaller cities for the public meeting. The protest will be held in Bahawalpur on December 30, Malakand on January 3, 2021, Bannu on January 6, Khuzdar on January 9, Loralai on January 13, Tharparkar on January 16, Faisalabad on January 18, Sargodha on January 23, and Sialkot on January 27.