RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Peoples Party insisted on Wednesday it would hold a rally at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh on Friday (tomorrow) to observe the death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. But the district administration has refused to give permission for security reasons, signalling a possible showdown between the party and the government over the issue.

The opposition party had announced a public meeting in Liaquat Bagh — the place where the former prime minister was assassinated on Dec 27, 2007 — but the district administration refused to give permission and the PPP challenged the decision before the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court.

The court summoned the Rawal­pindi deputy commissioner on Thursday (today) and allowed the PPP to make arrangements at the venue of the public meeting, but made it clear that “the gathering in question shall be subject to decision of the instant writ petition”.

Lahore High Court is set to resume crucial hearing today

But two senior PPP leaders in Rawalpindi and Karachi hinted at observing Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary at the same venue whe­­ther the party got permission or not.

“Jialays [PPP workers] from all over the country are on their way to Liaquat Bagh, but opponents and remnants of [former military dictator] Ziaul Haq faced problems over this,” said PPP-Parliamen­tarian Information Secretary Nafisa Shah during a visit to the venue to oversee preparations for the Friday event.

She blamed the government for trying to stop the PPP from holding the public meeting and warned that party workers and supporters would react over this. “If the workers rise against the conspiracy to stop them from observing the death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto, the remnants of Zia will find no place to hide,” she said.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah was more candid on the issue than her.

Accompanied by Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, he told reporters in Karachi at the Quaid’s mausoleum that although the permission was still awaited, he would be in Rawalpindi as “we are going to hold the public meeting at Liaquat Bagh on the 27th”.

Expressing his inability to receive and meet Prime Minister Imran Khan who is scheduled to visit Karachi on Dec 27, Mr Shah said that in addition to being the chief minister of Sindh he was also vice president of the PPP and he would be attending the public meeting to commemorate the death anniversary of late Benazir Bhutto.

Meanwhile, Dr Shah along with party leaders Rubina Khalid, Shaheen Dar, Sardar Ayub, Sadia Danish, Nargis Faiz Malik and Nazir Dhoki visited Liaquat Bagh to review the arrangements for the Friday event.

Talking to reports, she said PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would observe the death anniversary of his mother at Liaquat Bagh, but the remnants of Zia and opponents did not like it.

She said Liaquat Bagh had a historical status since Benazir Bhutto was assassinated here and Mr Bhutto-Zardari was coming to observe his mother’s death anniversary for the very first time.

“Baboos said the party could not hold public meeting at the site but the followers of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto are coming to Liaquat Bagh to observe the death anniversary of their great leader [Benazir],” she said, adding that the PPP would not be holding any sit-in or lockdown.

“We will come to Rawalpindi to talk about the rights of the people and the promises made in the manifesto,” she said.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2019