Over 450 Opposition workers booked in Pakistan ahead of protests

Over 450 workers from Pakistan's Opposition parties have been booked in Lahore and other areas of the Punjab province ahead of the first grand anti-government rally by an Opposition alliance formed to oust Prime Minister Imran Khan.
 

On September 20, the leaders of 11 major Opposition parties announced the formation of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and launch of a three-phased anti-government movement under an “action plan” starting with countrywide public meetings, protest demonstrations and rallies before a “decisive long march” towards Islamabad in January 2021.
 

The first anti-government rally is scheduled on Friday in Gujranwala city, some 80 kms from Lahore, followed by another rally on October 18 in Karachi, in Quetta on October 25, Peshawar on November 22, Multan on November 30 and then a rally in Lahore on December 13.
 

The Opposition leaders announced that they would use all political and democratic options, including no-confidence motions and mass resignations from Parliament to seek “the selected” prime minister's resignation.
 

The Opposition parties have accused the powerful army of rigging the 2018 elections that brought Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party to power.
 

The Opposition parties are openly opposing the military’s interference in politics and elections for the first time in the recent history of the country. The PDM comprises mainly three mainstream Opposition parties — PML-N of Nawaz Sharif, PPP of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) of Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
 

Punjab police got into action and booked over 450 workers, mostly of PML-N, in different parts of Punjab province under Covid-19 violations.