Govt ‘conditionally’ allows opposition to stage protests

The Government of Punjab on Friday decided to grant ‘conditional permission’ to the opposition parties to stage their announced protests.

As per details, the development came following the meeting between Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar and Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier in the day.

During the meeting, both leaders discussed the strategy to tackle protesters alongside ongoing politics and other issues of the country.

In the conditional permission, the protesting parties would be bound to stage their demonstrations within the boundaries of law of the land and would not be allowed to defame state institutions including Pakistan Army.

In case of any violation, strict action would be taken against the protestors.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had announced to hold phase-wise protests against the arrest of party president Shehbaz Sharif by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from October 3.

In the first phase, the demonstration would be carried out in Lahore while protests would also be staged in Gujranwala, Faisalabad, and other cities of Punjab in the second round.

Party workers and leaders had also been given responsibilities in this regard.

On September 29, an accountability court granted 14-day physical remand of leader of the opposition Shahbaz Sharif to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in assets beyond means and money-laundering case.

The court also issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Shahbaz’s wife Nusrat Shahbaz and daughter Rabia Imran, both co-accused in similar cases.

The non-bailable arrest warrants for Suleman Shahbaz and another co-accused Haroon Yousaf had already been issued by the court in the same reference.