Islamabad [Pakistan], February 27 : The Opposition Grand Alliance has accused the government of trying to block their planned conference and has announced that the event will take place as scheduled on Thursday, despite several obstacles, The Express Tribune reported.
Speaking at a press conference after a meeting, alliance leaders, including Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Omar Ayub, and others, criticised the government for allegedly preventing them from booking a venue for the event.
On Wednesday, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that the alliance had been trying to book a venue for the conference for the past week. According to him, the first venue was initially cancelled, followed by a second one, with the reason given that the national cricket team needed to pass through.
He quipped that entire cricket is often put on hold for cricket.
He added that when the alliance tried to book a third venue, the hotel administration intervened and threatened to shut down the market if the conference was organised, The Express Tribune reported.
Despite these challenges, Abbasi said the conference did take place, with journalists, lawyers, and political figures attending. He emphasised that the event focused only on the supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law, and no inflammatory remarks were made.
He slammed the government for being afraid of a simple indoor conference. "This is our right," he insisted, adding that a government spending billions on advertisements should not fear one conference.
Omar Ayub, another opposition leader, explained that the conference aimed to discuss the protection of Pakistan's constitution and the country's future. He stressed that all participants were democratic individuals committed to strengthening Pakistan.
Ayub also alleged that the hotel administration admitted to being under pressure but did not disclose the source. The opposition leaders demanded written confirmation of this pressure, The Express Tribune reported.
He warned that if such interference happened again, he would take the matter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Ayub also addressed criticism against him for raising issues related to Balochistan, stating that if the Balochistan government had control, it should publicly take action to resolve the problems.