ISLAMABAD: In an unprecedented event in Pakistan, the supporters of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) brought a lion and a tiger to the Nawaz Sharif-led Lahore rally on Tuesday, The News International reported.
It reported that the animals representing the party's symbol were brought to the camps set up in the National Assembly (NA)-130 constituency to welcome former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
Scores of PML-N supporters took selfies with the lion and tiger locked in iron cages. The wild animals have been brought to multiple PML-N public gatherings in the past.
However, PML-N leader Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Nawaz's instruction, a "real lion, brought by one of its supporters for the PML-N rally, has been returned."
"Nawaz Sharif has instructed that no real lion or any other animal should be brought to any rally in Pakistan," she said in a tweet. The News International reported that Marriyum also said the PML-N supremo took strict notice of bringing a lion to the rally on Mohini Road and was directed to send the animal back immediately, after which the lion was sent back right away.
On Tuesday evening, Nawaz led a public rally in NA-130, from where he will contest general elections slated for February 8. PML-N Chief Organiser Maryam Nawaz also participated in the rally, which will start from Mohini Road and go to Ameer Roor Malik Park from Kale Di Puli.
The rally will go from Malik Park to Saradar Chapel Chowk, via Moola Bakhsh Chowk, Ibrahim Road, Santnagar and Isalampura. On Wednesday, Nawaz Sharif asserted that Pakistan faced a crisis following his ouster from the prime minister's office, ARY News reported. In a public gathering at Nankana Sahib, Sharif questioned the rationale behind imprisoning a prime minister who played a pivotal role in making Pakistan a nuclear state.
He alleged that five judges removed him from office for not accepting a salary from his son, leading to subsequent economic challenges in the country, as reported by ARY News. Sharif pledged to bring about positive change in Nankana Sahib, outlining plans to transform the city into a model with the establishment of a boy's degree college and a state-of-the-art cricket stadium.