Re: APDM strike call for Nawaz Sharif gets muted response
You would have thought there would have been some sort of reaction in the Sharif heartleand of Lahore - but nothing.
http://thenews.jang.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=71933
**Lahore traders give poor response to strike call **
LAHORE: The lukewarm response from city traders to Nawaz Sharif’s deportation to Saudi Arabia shows that either the former prime minister has lost support among them or they are afraid of annoying the government. Neither a single shop was closed in the city in sympathy with the PNL-N leader nor did any significant number of shopkeepers wear black armbands as a mark of protest against his deportation. This was despite the fact that a large number of shopkeepers in the major city markets surveyed showed sympathy with the exiled leader and for the first time in 60 years, even shopkeepers criticised the Saudi government, which is said to be hosting him against his wishes. Some leading figures among the Qaumi Tajir Ittehad, which owes its existence to the Musharraf regime, were seen privately admitting that the government had acted unfairly. However, when asked to express their views on record, they declared that as theirs was an apolitical organisation, they remained aloof from the strike or protest call. What surprised most market watchers was the attitude of Haji Maqsood Butt, former adviser to Nawaz Sharif, during his stint as Punjab chief minister. Butt has been leading the Anjuman Tajran Pakistan since 1986. When the Supreme Court allowed Nawaz to return, Butt despite being in the PML announced that Nawaz would be accorded a rousing welcome by traders on his return.