PDM announces new round of anti-government rallies across Pakistan

The PDM steering committee will meet at JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s residence today (Monday) to discuss the strategy for its protest in front of the ECP office scheduled for January 19 and review the arrangements for the purpose.

Speaking after a meeting of the PDM steering committee in Islamabad, Rehman said PDM members were democratic people and followed the Constitution and law. “We want freedom of democracy in the country because that is the demand of the Constitution and the law,” he added.

He said the meeting discussed the strategy for Tuesday’s protest outside the ECP and it was decided that “the PDM leadership will enthusiastically stage a protest demonstration in front of the Election Commission regarding the foreign funding case.”

#PDM chief says Opposition parties will protest outside Election Commission of Pakistan on January 19.#GeoNews

— Geo English (@geonews_english) January 13, 2021

Rehman termed the foreign funding case “the biggest scandal in Pakistan’s political history” whose central character he said was Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He accused the premier of illegally collecting millions of rupees from around the world in the name of his party and “using them for political disruption and election rigging by bringing the money into the country through hundi and other means”.

Rehman said the foreign funding case against the ruling PTI had been pending for six years and Prime Minister Imran took “the mother of NROs” to create political instability in Pakistan and “used funds collected in the name of charity for personal business and spreading chaos, illegally and through secret accounts”.

The foreign funding case against the PTI was filed in November 2014 by Akbar S. Babar, a founding member of the party. The case relates to allegations of undisclosed foreign funding of the PTI.

“We will demand the ECP to immediately give a decision on the crime which has been accepted,” he said, adding that further delays were giving rise to doubts and suspicions.

Referring to former premier Nawaz Sharif, Rehman said on one hand a decision was issued against an elected prime minister within six months, while today a case was pending against a “selected” prime minister for six years. “What kind of justice is this?” he asked.

The PDM chief appealed to Pakistanis to participate in the protest for the sake of “national security” and against “obtaining funds from anti-Pakistan lobbies”.