PML show gets poor response

The Punjab ruling party put up a poor performance while taking out a rally in response to the Chief Justice of Pakistan reception in Lahore on Saturday. The rally was scheduled to proceed from Lakshami Chowk to PTCL head office at McLeod Road.
Various groups from various places started gathering at the Lakshami Chowk at around 5 pm and saw the climax at around 6.45 pm. Provincial ministers, including Arshad Lodhi, Ejaz Shafi, Dr Tahir Ali Javed, Makhdoom Ashfaq and Sahibzada Faizul Hassan, Town Nazim Gulberg Firaz Chaudhry and Chairman Market Committee Khawaja Tahir Zia led the rally.
Later, as the rally proceeded to the PTCL head office, a confusion surfaced as who was leading it. As Mian Akhlaq Gudu, husband of a Town Nazim Shafqat-ul-Nisa, took the lead and showed his power of being the leader, while PML-Q Senior Vice President Arshad Lodhi and other senior party leaders was under his shadows.
Former advisor to the CM Haji Hanif also tried to highjack the show by splitting from the main rally and his supporters gave the impression that he was leader. The whole rally was mismanaged, which disappointed many provincial ministers, and hence they sidelined themselves from the main procession and showed as if they had nothing to do with it.
The participants were carrying placards of President Pervez Musharraf, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and Monis Elahi, and banners reading pro-Musharraf slogans. They also chanted slogans in support of the President and shouted against the Chief Justice saying 'political judge is not accepted.'
The administration had placed large containers to block an access to The Mall to avoid a clash, where the lawyers and the opposition parties were waiting to receive the Chief Justice. The containers reminded of the Berlin Wall. Many of the participants who were standing on the containers, jumped over to the other side to join the opposition public meeting after the ruling party's rally had ended.
While talking newsmen, Punjab Local Government Minister Muhammad Raja Basharat said the rally has been organised to show solidarity with the President Pervez Musharraf and this was only a 'Lahorites show.' "I am very satisfied with the show put up the PML-Q Lahore and it has been a successful rally," he added.
To a question, he said this was just a tip of the iceberg, their real show would be in Islamabad on May 12, which would at the Punjab level. He clarified that no one was forced to participate in the rally and no government workers compelled to come on the day. "All the people in the rally are committed party workers," he claimed.
Punjab C&W Minister and PML-Q Punjab General Secretary Chaudhry Zaheeruddin told the newsmen that they have been silently tolerating the opposition parties. They have been exploiting the Chief Justice issue in their favour, for the last one month. Now we have decided to come out to counter the opposition parties. They were prepared for it. "We have full confidence in the leadership of President Pervez Musharraf, PML President Chaudhry Shujaat and Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi. It is a election year and all the parties are gearing up for it. We are confident of winning the elections based on our performance. However, the opposition have nothing to show that could help them in winning the election, hence they are politicising the issue to gain mileage in the elections. We would foil their attempt with the support of the masses," he maintained.
PML-Q Senior Vice President Arshad Lodhi implicitly accepted that government employees were in the rally, but only as a Pakistanis, voters and committed party workers. He further said that Section 144 has been relaxed by the government for the ruling party and the opposition.
To a question 'why the CM has not joined the rally,' he said, "It would be better if the question is directed to the CM himself who might join the rally at anytime, however I have been at the spot since 4 pm to lead the rally. The message of the rally is to show solidarity with the President of Pakistan and not to make the judiciary issue in to a political issue."
Khawaja Tahir Zia said he had not forced any government employee to participate in the rally, however if that was the case then he was not responsible for it.
Meanwhile, some provincial ministers, not from Lahore, on anonymity said the leadership of Lahore have failed to manage the rally. They averred that they were directed on the eleventh hour to participate in the rally. "If they could not manage the show then they should have told us, we could have done it successfully," they added. Commenting on the present crisis in the country, they looked up to the skies and said may Allah Almighty protect this country from further destruction.
Ironically, the senior leaders of the PML-Q, Punjab C&W Minister and PML-Q Punjab General Secretary Chaudhry Zaheeruddin, PML-Q President Lahore Mian Munir and General Secretary Sohail Mahmood Butt, joined late in the rally, although they should have been there at the start.