JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman on Wednesday said they had rebelled against the “reign of rigging” and added that the offices occupied by the rulers were valueless, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Wednesday.

Describing Prime Minister Imran Khan as a representative of international establishment, Fazl said he had been imposed on the country through rigging.

He was addressing a ceremony held in Charsadda in connection with the decision made by former ANP leader Barrister Arshad Abdullah to join the JUI-F.

“We have announced a rebellion against the reign of rigging,” Fazl said and promised that the people’s interests would be supreme in the country after the success of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

“We are alone in the region. On whose agenda they are working,” he questioned as the charged audience raised anti-government slogans. 

An ocean of people would be seen in Gujranwala on Oct 16 and in Karachi on Oct 18, the JUI-F chief remarked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Udi3ZCE9kqc

The current rulers, Fazl said, had pushed the country on the verge of destruction and noted that the poor did not have money even to buy ration.

Fazl delivered this speech amid the reports that he will now lead the opposition rally from Lahore to Gujranwala. This move is significant given that the government is cracking down on the opposition workers and have planned to seal Lahore.

Earlier, it was planned that PML-N Vice-president Maryam Nawaz and Fazl would lead separate rallies. 

Commenting on the government response, Maryam on Wednesday said containers had been parked outside the Jati Umra residence but their resolve was unflinching. 

https://twitter.com/MaryamNSharif/status/1316257978182438918 

She posted this tweet amid the reports the government decided to seal area and no one would be allowed to leave Lahore on Oct 16 in any rally.

In an attempt to seal Lahore, the police have already started confiscating containers with the bus stations told not to provide any vehicles for the rally.

The district administration in Gujranwala has been cracking down on the opposition leaders and workers. In the latest example, a case was registered against the organisers for violating the coronavirus SOPs as PPP Central Punjab President Qamar Zaman Kaira and a large number of party workers attended a workers’ convention.

Several opposition local leaders, workers and supporters have been arrested in Gujranwala, Mandi Bahauddin and other districts with the administration set to seal Gujranwala and surrounding areas.  

Mohammad Zubair – the spokesperson for PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif – told 24NewsHD that the government was afraid of an unarmed girl.

Asking the government to face Maryam in political field, Zubair warned that the protest would spread across the province if the opposition was stopped from holding the Gujranwala rally.

On the other hand, Khawaja Saad Rafique described the sedition cases as medals and said the arrests of party workers won’t work, as neither the rally nor the processions were to be stopped. He was talking to media persons in Lahore outside an accountability court.