Rawalpindi: From chaos to calm: City limping back to normalcy

[Naveed Yaseen]

* It took PML-N three days to relent
* Protesters demand an end to governor's rule

By Aamir Yasin
RAWALPINDI: On the fourth day of agitation on Saturday, PML-N's fiery protests against disqualification of Sharif brothers relented at last.

PML-N workers gathered at Committee Chowk at 2:00pm, holding up party flags, and blocked Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Road for two hours, creating problems for commuters and motorists. They shouted anti-government and pro-PML-N slogans.

They marched city roads with loudspeakers and party flags installed on their vehicles. Some of them wore caps, having their election symbol 'tiger' painted on them. They again burnt tyres and effigies of President Asif Ali Zardari on roads.

A mini-truck strung with placards and portraits of PML-N leaders led the main rally.

Parliamentarians Haji Pervaiz, Hanif Abbasi, Ziaullah Shah and Raja Hafeez boarded the truck and delivered speeches to heat up party workers. Over 100 police cordoned off the area to tackle any incident of violence, which fortunately did not take place.

The speakers lashed out at the government and Zardari. They said disqualification of Sharif brothers meant to dent the democracy.

They alleged that Zardari did not honour his promises for restoration of sacked judges and rather he resorted to undemocratic act of disqualifying Sharif brothers and imposing governor's rule on Punjab.

They said they would continue struggle for restoration of judiciary and fully participate in lawyers' 'long march' and sit-ins. They appealed to public to join their protests.

They said the rulers did not believe in democracy so they imposed governor's rule unnecessarily on Punjab. They said 209 members of the provincial assembly had gathered at Raiwind and expressed their full support to PML-N leadership. They demanded that the government lift governor's rule and allow the provincial assembly to elect leader of the house.

They alleged that the government was furthering policies of a military dictator and spoiling the cause of democracy.

After three days of wild protests, the garrison city is now limping back to normalcy. For all Saturday's sporadic rallies and cases of violence, normalcy prevailed in the city as government and private offices, courts and markets were not attacked.

People came to markets and vehicular traffic returned to roads. Resumption of public transport proved a blessing for commuters who had been robbed by cabbies for three days.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg11_1