Hosh, not josh
Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, according to Daily Jang (21 October 2019), said that the Opposition must take the path of wits more than emotions at the current moment (Opposition josh ke bijaye hosh ka rasta ikhtiyar karay). He emphasized that this was a time to unite and that the country will not progress from a politics of pandemonium (afra-tafri).
Ballooning problem
Federal railways minister Sheikh Rasheed, according to Daily Jang (23 October 2019), expressed his view that Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman’s balloon had too much air in it, and that it was about to burst soon (Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman ke ghubaray mein bohat hawa bhar gai hai, ye ghubara jald phatnay wala hai). He went on to opine that the Maulana did not know what awaited him (woh nahin jantay inkay saath kya hoga).
Warned
According to Daily Jang (24 October 2019), Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan stated that those planning a protest ought to leave the sticks aside (ehtejaj ke liay aaein tou danday rakh kar ehtejaj karein). She further stated that if they arrived with a stick, then the government would also take up the stick (danday le kar ehtejaj kiya tou hakoomat bhee danda uthaa le gi).
It wasn’t him!
Daily Jang (24 October 2019) quoted Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan as saying that the law was not subordinate to the personal wishes of anyone. She added that PM Imran Khan had no role in sending Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif to prison and now had no role in moving them from there to hospital.
Facilities on offer
According to Daily Express (25 October 2019), PTI leader Senator Faisal Javed stated that Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman would be provided the facilities of a DJ and a container for the purpose of his dharna protest in the capital (Maulana ko dharnay mein DJ aur container ki sahoolat dein ge). He went on to predict that even the drivers bringing them to the dharna will leave them and go away (Maulana ke dharnay mein aanay waalay drivers bhee inhein chorr kar chalay jaein ge).
Catch the Containers
Daily Dunya (26 October 2019) informed its readers that police in Lahore had begun seizing containers (containers ki pakkar-dakkar shuru) so as to seal the entry points of the federal capital Islamabad.
Horror story?
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the PPP, according to Daily Dunya (27 October 2019), expressed his view that PM Imran Khan’s Naya Pakistan had proved to be a nightmare (bhayanak khwab). He further emphasized his view that the “unfit PM” (na-laiq aur na-ehl Wazir-e-Azam) had to go home.
Focused
Daily Dunya (27 October 2019) quoted CM Punjab Usman Buzdar as saying that he did not care about criticism and that the journey of serving the people would continue and there would be only the politics of the people’s welfare in Pakistan (tanqeed ki parvah nahin, awami khidmat ka safr jari rahay ga aur Pakistan mein sirf awam ki khush-hali ki siyasat hogi).
Counterstrike?
According to Daily Express (27 October 2019), Sahibzada Hamid Raza of the Sunni Ittehad Council opined that Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman’s Azadi was going to do a Fasadi March and not an Azadi March. He also stated that he would do a Milad Dharna if the Maulana opted for a dharna.