Islamabad: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he has directed his political party not to create any hurdles in the way of the much-publicised planned anti-government rally by the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-insaf (PTI) party on September 30 near his family estate at Raiwind in Punjab province.
According to the national broadcaster, the prime minister made the statement during an interaction with reporters in London on his arrival there from New York after attending the UN General Assembly session.
Sharif said he believes workers of the ruling Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz (PML-N) would follow the restraint directive.
The prime minister is expected to return home from London on Monday.
PTI chairman Imran Khan will lead the forthcoming Raiwind rally in a climax to his public campaign demanding inquiry into offshore assets of Sharif family disclosed in leaked Panama Papers.
Tension has been on the rise between PML-N and PTI, especially in Punjab, the leading province and political stronghold of the ruling family, as rival political activists engaged in a war of words and traded threats.
Local news channels earlier this week showed groups of political workers holding physical combat drills in parts of the province in preparation for likely Raiwind showdown.
Sharif has frequently vowed that opposition attempts to destabilise his government would fail and it would complete its five-year tenure due to expire in 2018.
