LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz has said the government cannot allow Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to hold a public rally at CTI Ground in Sialkot due to reservations of the Christian community.

Talking to the media on Saturday, Hamza asked the PTI to change the venue and hold the public meeting at some other appropriate place. “The PTI should select some other place in Sialkot as the CTI Ground is property of the Christian community and there is a Christian Church built on it; the Christian community may object if the PTI uses its turf,” he said. Hamza said the government would not allow PTI Chairman Imran Khan to play with the country’s constitution and law.

PML-N leader Ataullah Tarar told media that the government would not let the PTI use the place of the Christian church for politics. “Why does the PTI not hold its public rally at Sialkot Stadium which provides a much bigger ambience for holding a political meeting,” he wondered. He claimed that the PTI was aware that it could not fill up the big stadium with people, so it wanted a smaller place for holding its rally. “The PTI wanted to ignite the Christian-Muslim clashes under the garb of holding its public gathering at the CTI Ground.”

Another PML-N leader Rana Mashood said that under the law the government cannot allow the PTI to hold its event on a private land.

Talking to the media, PML-N Punjab Secretary General Sardar Owais Khan Leghari criticised Imran Khan and Usman Buzdar for destroying Punjab. He maintained that the condition of hospitals is worrisome while the sanitation situation is deplorable. The patients are running from pillar to post to get treatment and medicines, he said. Leghari said that there was a serious economic challenge facing the country for which political stability is required, but the PTI and its leadership is playing a foul game for their vested interests based on lies and baseless allegations. He expressed optimism that the PML-N and its allies would address the challenges and steer the country out of crises.

On the other hand, commenting on the Sialkot incident, Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Parvez Elahi said that Usman Dar and PTI Sialkot should thank Hamza Shahbaz for publicizing the PTI jalsa without any expense. The difficult task that Usman Dar was doing alone has been taken over by PML-N and Hamza Shahbaz which created exhilaration among the people, he added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022