Dawn reported that over 20 men with their faces covered in masks and hoods gathered on Dunraven. They were chanting 'go Nawaz go' slogans and also held placards with the words “We stand with Pak Army” printed on them.
According to the newspaper, the protesters also 'hurled abuses and swear words in Punjabi'. "By the time the police vehicle arrived, the crowd had dispersed, leaving behind their posters," said the news report. The protesters did not belong to any political party, a Pakistan journalist based in the UK tweeted.
Meanwhile, it is being reported that the London police have also started a probe over security threats to the Sharif family.
In Dec 2019, Nawaz Sharif’s house in London was attacked at night by protesters. Videos doing the rounds on social media showed a crowd of people gathered outside Avenfield House near Hyde Park in London. The crowd chanted slogans against the former prime minister while some people attempted to kick the gates.
Nawaz's APC address
This protest came after Nawaz Sharif, after staying silent for over a year, addressed a multi-party moot organised by the Pakistan People’s Party last week. In the speech, the former premier did not hold back and criticised state institutions for imposing a ‘selected’ and ‘inexperienced’ setup, responsible for the woes that the country is currently facing.
‘Hijacking of 2018 polls’
PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan was facing all these problems today because of the elements who ‘stole people’s mandate by putting in incompetent people in power’.
“This is a violation of the Constitution. Has anyone given a thought to what a grave crime it is to steal the people’s mandate,” he questioned.
“Can I ask why the Results Transmission System (RTS) was closed for hours during the election, why polling agents were thrown out during counting? Why was dhandli done, on whose directives and why? The secretary of the Election Commission should answer and all those responsible will have to answer,” he said.
PMs failed to complete term:
Referring to the rigging by the establishment, Nawaz said Pakistan has become a ‘laboratory of such experiments’. “Everyone in the country knows that not a single prime minister in the history of Pakistan was allowed to complete its five-year term.”
All dictators have spent multiple years while premiers have hardly been allowed to complete their term, he said, referring to the infamous ‘doctrine of necessity’.
Speaking about the turbulent history of Pakistani politics and the role of the judiciary in enabling the undemocratic powers, Nawaz said: “When a dictator [Pervez Musharraf] was first brought into the courtroom for violating the Constitution, you saw what happened. Court gave dictators the right to play with the Constitution and acquitted someone who broke the Constitution twice […] Whereas the ones who follow the Constitution are still in jail.”