LAHORE: The "thin" participation of PML-N in the JUI-F "Azadi March" in the city, which was once considered a fortress of the Sharifs, belies its previous claim to appear in droves.
No notable leader of the PML-N participated in the public meeting led by the head of JUI-F Maulana Fazlur Rehman at the Great Iqbal Park here on Wednesday. Even the PPP workers outnumbered the PML-N in the JUI-F program and their president of Punjab (PPP), Qamar Zaman Kaira, shared the stage with Maulana Fazl.
Read: Shahbaz announces the & # 39; full participation & # 39; of PML-N in the Azadi March of JUI-F
The president of PML-N, Shahbaz Sharif, was present in Lahore, but his meeting with Maulana Fazl could not be organized. Fazl was also unable to meet with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the Services Hospital because doctors said he was not stable enough to allow him to meet with visitors.
"I wanted to meet Mian Sahib and I contacted his doctor, but he said his condition (of Nawaz) did not allow any visitor to see him," Maulana Fazl told reporters.
The medical board treating Sharif said Wednesday it showed signs of improvement as its platelet count increased from 28,000 to 35,000.
Previously, the PML-N had claimed that the party would participate "fully" in the march towards Nawaz Sharif. The consensus emerged after an awkward initial situation amid reports that Shahbaz was not in favor of joining the march. At its last meeting a few days ago in Model Town regarding the preparations for the march, the PML-N said it had mobilized its workers who would join the JUI-F march and give Fazl an enthusiastic welcome here.
Speaking to Dawn, a PML-N leader said that Shahbaz had already declared that he would join the march in Islamabad and that there were no plans to meet with Maulana or attend his Lahore power show. “However, the PML-N Lahore chapter failed to mobilize its workers for the JUI-F protest despite the clear leadership direction. In fact, this is not the failure of Lahore's party, but of everything PML-N, "he said.
Many JUI-F supporters in Minar-i-Pakistan complained that the PML-N workers did not join the march despite the high claims of their leaders.
The general secretary of PML-N, Ahsan Iqbal, denied the sad participation of PML-N in Lahore. “A large number of PML-N workers received the JUI-F caravan in Lahore at various reception points. On Wednesday, the PML-N workers gathered at the Shahdara reception point. If there had been a lapse in coordination with the workers, it would have been examined, ”he said.
Iqbal said there was no change in strategy. "PML-N workers will arrive in Islamabad on Thursday (today) from across the country for a great show against the PTI government." He said Shahbaz could not meet Maulana Fazl because he was busy taking care of Nawaz.
Posted on Dawn, October 31, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1513929/pml-n-leaders-conspicuous-by-their-absence-in-azadi-march