Imran Khan govt will be finished the day Opposition lawmakers resign: Maryam

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 4 (ANI): Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Vice President Maryam Nawaz on Sunday said that the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government will be toppled the day the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) lawmakers tender their resignations.
Addressing a large PDM rally in Bahawalpur hosted by the PML-N, she posed the question to the audience whether the opposition parties should resign in order to mount pressure on Prime Minister Imran Khan's government, as reported by Dawn.
"Bahawalpur has given its verdict; this government's days are numbered. So should [we] keep sitting in these sham assemblies or resign?" she asked the crowd, who largely responded with "resign".
"Remember, this government will be finished the day PDM tenders resignations," she added, as quoted by Dawn and reported further that despite PDM constituent parties claim to have received the resignations of all opposition lawmakers in the national and provincial assemblies, the alliance has not yet decided about handing in the resignations formally.
Mocking the PTI signature slogan of 'tabdeeli' (change), Maryam questioned whether the alleged "storm of inflation", incompetence and theft of food products could be termed tabdeeli, as reported by Dawn.
Maryam asked what would happen if "I turn the direction of this sea of Bahawalpur's" supporters towards Islamabad. In such a scenario, she said, the prime minister will not be able to "hide" from the public.
She said that Khan should be forced to go home as soon as possible because she claimed, the prices of essential commodities had increased many folds when compared with the PML-N's tenure and people could not afford to pay utility bills and medicines.
Maryam remarked that Punjab "used to be taunted that it does not stand against oppression" but said that had now changed.
"Not only has Punjab risen [now], but it is fully ready to reclaim its rights. [...] The establishment, selectors and selected are all seeing that the people of Punjab have stood up," she added, asking the audience whether they were ready to "snatch" their rights and vote.
The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has been holding anti-government rallies against the Imran Khan government on the charges of election rigging, corruption and dominance of the Pakistan Army in politics of the country.
Maryam and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari are among the major leaders who have said that they will send the Imran-led government packing by January 31 and have organised several PDM rallies including in Peshawar, Gujranwala, Karachi, Quetta, Multan and Lahore since October 16. (ANI)