Thread by @zburki

Huge crowds at the #PDMQuettaJalsa You can watch it live here:

Also: many apologies for not live-tweeting the jalsa. I miscalculated the time it would start.

Akhtar Mengal speaking: says Balochistan has seen so much grief, so much bloodshed, so many missing people whose parents and families have been awaiting their return for decades.

Says Mengal: this was not what our Balochistan was like. No ethnicity in the province is happy. Reminds the people of the doctors killed in Quetta or the Hazaras killed in the city. Says we didn't see this much misery even during the Raj. This is what we have seen after 1947.

Says Mengal: Is this why the country was made? IS this the sort of sacrifice they wanted from us? Did the rulers just want the history of the country written in Baloch and Pashtun blood? Asks: do you feel equal in this country? Are our children safe here?

Says mass graves have been discovered in the province. we have seen long marches on foot by people protesting missing persons.

Says: who is behind all this? Says when we take names, you say dont take names. Mengal says: okay fine, we wont take your name. We'll say we did it.

Says: Here parties are created overnight. [Makes a dig at BAP].

Says they made a party overnight, called it BAP, got together a lot of trash and then tried to wash it off. Says the stench wont go away. That you have tainted all of Pakistani politics. And yet you wont back off.

Says Mengal: siasat is not your job. If you want to do politics give us (me, Achakzai, Maulana) your vardi. Says: we will protect borders then. But we will not give up the way you have. Announces Mengal: we were born for this soil, this land and this is the land we will die for

Akhtar Mengal talking about @mjdawar (the crowd cheers). Says Dawar is an elected rep. He can address people in Karachi, elsewhere but not in Quetta. Shows the way Balochistan is treated. People not allowed to speak here. Says even to breathe we have to ask our aqas

Mengal now talking about Capt Safdar's arrest. Says: we were worried about ourselves, these guys even took away the Sindh IG.

Mengal talking about how the islands are being taken over by the federal govt. Says Gwadar's rightful owner are the Gwadar locals. Says we will not be scared away by jails and arrests.

Says Mengal: promise the ppl of Balochistan that whatever govt comes in next treats the people of Balochistan the way it treats those in Isl or other cities. That Balochistan will not see the discrimination it has seen all these years

Announcement at the #PDMQuettaJalsa Despite every effort, @NawazSharifMNS will address the jalsa. NS speaking now:

So @NawazSharifMNS starting his speech at the #PDMQuettaJalsa in a few mins they say

Announcement made that people will have to wait a bit for NS because lines have dropped. Now suddenly saying NS is back and is addressing

Says @NawazSharifMNS The crowd at Quetta shows me that our narrative of vote ko izzat do is gaining strength. Says its time to change our destiny.

Says I am missing my friend Bizenjo today who was a fighter for democracy. Says his death is a loss for us all.

NS talking about @mjdawar and Nadeem askar [The crowd bursts]. Says we condemn such tactics in the name of security.

Says what has been happening to Balochistan is a tragic tale. The label of ghaddari has been used against anyone who dared to speak up against oppression as a free citizen of a free country. Says they were labelled ghaddars only bec they raised a voice for their rights.

Says NS: some were killed, some were disappeared and their graves were never found. Says Nawaz: this has been happening till today.

Ask: how long will this go on? How long will we do this to our own people? Says I know the challenges the ppl of Balochistan face. The people of the biggest province face immense issues. The govt's anti-ppl politics have made ppls lives impossible.

Says atta, sugar, meds -- everything is out of reach.

Asks @NawazSharifMNS why have we reached such a stage? Says NS was not liked by 'them' bec he didnt take dictation. So a plan was made to kick him out. When they couldnt find corruption, they thought lets kick him out for not taking salary from his son

Continues NS: They thought lets kick him out of the PML-N presidentship. Let's also arrest his family. Says NS; making me an example, they've made us all miserable.

Says they forced ppl to join the PTI, took over polling stations on Election Day, got the RTS suspended, got their own results manufactured, got the worst rigging done and installed an incompetent man as PM so he'd never ask 'them' any question but will just dance to their tune

Says NS: they got so scared that they did what they did in Khi [Capt Safdar's arrest]. Says @NawazSharifMNS the Khi incident proves what I say: There is a state above the state in Pakistan.

[So the stream I'm watching went mute and I missed what NS said after state above state]. Now he's talking about how the PDM has risen to challenge this disease of state above state.

Says most in the army dont even know all this is being done in their name. Says in the course of their duty, they are made to do stuff that ...[I cant hear now].

Its back. Says in the cours eof their duty, they are made to do stuff that harms the ppl of the country. Says the work it works is that some ppl break the law, violate the constitution for their vested interests and use the fauj's name. Anfd then the fauj gets tainted.

Says NS: I take their names so that the fauj as an institution doesn't get tainted. [Differentiates between some jernails and the institution]. Talks about Kargil and who was responsible.

Says our soldiers kept asking that they at least be provided arms if not food. Says those characters were behind Kargil who on Oct 12, 1999 imposed a martial law in the country. [Names Musharraf].

Says these are the ppl who killed patriot Akbar Bugti. These are the ppl who did 12 May and Lal Masjid. Says these are the ppl responsible for the misery of the Baloch ppl. Says Musharraf benefited financially from all this. That NAB and IK govt dont dare take action against this

Says same ppl rigged elections. Says it wasnt the fauj that did it, but a few characters. That's why I name them, says NS.

. @NawazSharifMNS names Qamar Bajwa and Faiz. Says Bajwa Sb: you have to answer for a lot. Why were the elections rigged? Why were NS and MNS arrested? Why did you go against your oath? You had promised to not interfere in politics.

Is the Faizabad dhrana case not a chage sheet against you (Faiz)? You were not only promoted but made head of the ISI even. Says NS; wah wah, kya kiya aap ne.

Says NS: Gen Faiz, this is just one example of you breaking your oath. You have betrayed your oath. Had you done your job of defence, our Kashmiri brethren wouldnt have faced what they're facing today.

Says NS to IK: I keep telling you, we have nothing to do with you. Our issue is with those who brought yuou. But dont think you're safe. Saqib Nisar's NRO will neither save you nor Alima Khan.

NS says my message to the fauj soldiers: this is your land. But if you break the constitution you leave your own people at the mercy of those who violate their oath and constitution.

NS says my message to the civil servants: the times have changed. It is difficult for ppl to get away with illegal action. You saw how the Sindh Police stood steadfast. Says I salute the Sindh Police. Says all civil servants should do their work without fear of intimidation.

NS says my message to the people of Pakistan; Pakistan's fauj is your fauj. Respect them. Love them. But when it comes to the sanctity of the constitution, to rule of law then there should be no compromise

Says NS: no fauj can fight its own ppl. Peaceful protest is your constitutional right. No one can take that away from you. Freedom of expression is your right. No one can take it away from you.

Says: The vote is your right. Anyone who takes that away from you is taking away your future and is an authoritarian figure/inst. Don't let anyone mess with your future.

Says to the ppl: If you succeed in this today, then you will improve your condition. If you can',. then you are lost. Says its time we demand answers from all those who violated the law and constitution to bring you and us all to this place.

Thus ends @NawazSharifMNS speech. Now speaking: Achakzai Sb. Welcome the ppl, says its heartening to see so many there.

Says Achakzai a Muslim's belief says that the only power to bow down to is Allah. Says we will speak for anyone oppressed, no matter where they are. Adds: we are blamed for being qaum-parast, zuban-parast. Says we are not chauvisanistic qaum-parast or zuban-parast

Says we don't discriminate on the basis of colour, creed, ethnicity or language. [Quotes the Quran now]

[Achakzai explains that he will not speak in detail bec he would rather Maulana and others spoke]. Says Pakistan is a federation and the only way to run it is to make sure the constitution is supreme. All institutions stay with their domains.

Says Achakzai: On Baloch land the people of the land have the first right. Says the same for Pashtun lands. Refers to Hillary Clinton's 'deep state' interview. [Achakzai reading out parts of CLinton's definition of Pak deep state]

[My net died so I missed part of Achakzai's speech]. Right now he's talking about the 18th Amendment: says the day you decide to do away with the 18th amendment, then you will find out what we mean. Talks about the militias created by the state.

Says you imposee Chechens and others in Waziristan. And killed our own tribespeople. And yet we are asked to prove our loyalty. Says none of us has ever raised a slogan that says Pakistan Murdabad. Says we are accused of being disloyal. And agents.

Says Achakzai: We are still accused of working against Pakistan just bec we raise a voice for democracy and for the rights of a federation. Says Pakistan will see the Pashtun and Baloch equal everywhere in the country.

Now talking about the Durand Line: many of our people's lands are in Afghanistan. We used to go to our lands. Now we need a visa for our lands. We dont accept such restrictions.

If we are pushed, we will ask Pashtuns from both sides to get rid of the barb wire. Says of course the Durand Line stays.

Now comes @MaryamNSharif

. @MaryamNSharif Thanks the people of Quetta. Says you all must have heard that an unfortunate incident took place in France against Muslims. Says raise your voice in protest against this. [Quoting the Quran now]

Says MNS: Dr Malik thanked me for and mentioned the Baloch students march for scholarships. Says the way I see students in Punjab and elsewhere I see the kids of Balochistan in the same way.

Adds that it is unfortunate that the province that gives gas to the whole country its kids can't get scholarships without having to march for them. Says no one took mercy on them. And hope that they will get their scholarships.

Says a journo asked me what message I was giving to the ppl of balochistan by wearing a Baloch dress. Says my message is that the love I feel for the ppl of Pubjab, I feel more towards the ppl of Balochistan.

Says Maryam: I know the ppl fo balochsiatn are picked up and disappared and for years no one knows where they are.

Says a girl names Aseeba Kamran came to me while I was on stage and showed me photos of her three brothers who are still missing. Says: sharam karo, khuda ka khauf karo. Says inn kee bud-dua mein aur aasman mein koi hijab nahin hai. Says dont treat your own ppl this way.

MNS says: 'they' think the people of Balochistan have no right to vote. Says a party is created overnight and then an incompetent person is placed on our heads. Says: Shame Shame Shame

Says today I remember Dr Shazia's case. The way she was treated. Says I remembered her when my own door was broken so people could enter.

Says I today remember Akbar Bugti Shaheed and how a dictator raised his fist and threatened to kill Bugti. MNS: today I remember Jinnah's words spoken at Quetta's Staff College; where Jinnah asked the forces to respect the vote, the constitution.

Asks the people: has this happened? Have they stopped interfering in politics? Has the constitution been respected? Have civilian leaders been allowed to make policies?

Says we ALL demand: Vot ko izzat do. Siasat se duur ho jao. Let the elected rule. Do not make a state above the state. Do not make fake govts. Do not make govts above govts.

Says the reason behind your poverty is that the vote is not respected. Says govts are not run by those you elect. Says someone else holds the strings. You dont ve the right to vote in or vote out ppl, someone else does. If we don't challenge this, our freedom + future r in danger

Talks about Qazi Muhammad Isa and his son Faez Isa.

Says we ask the selected and the selectors to resign after the SC verdict on the Faez Isa case. Also says Shaukat Siddiqui needs to be exonerated too.

MNS says I'm also reminded of another name. Asim Saleem Bajwa. Says he has been the badshah of Balochistan and has been playing with the rights of the ppl and has been playing politics. Says god knows what else he has been up to here.

Says we ask what is pizza and there's silence. We ask how did your family get so rich and there's silence. We ask abt the SECP and there's silence. We ask for receipts and there's silence.

Says MNS: neither the selected not the selectors have the guts to ask either. Says; Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa Aisa Nahin Chale Ga. Hisaab Tau aap Ko Dena Parra Ga. Ressedein Tau Aap Ko Dikhaana Parein Gee.

Says its time to change our future. Its time to end disappearances and killings. Its time to end puppet regimes. Says lets ask for: Vote Ko Izzat Do

Announcement: @BBhuttoZardari to address now.

BBZ speaking. Greets and thanks everyone there. Says he's speaking from Shigar, GB. Says those who said that the PDM couldnt bring out ppl can see us now. Those who said Khi jalsa would be a failure can see what we did. And today Quetta has made this PDM jalsa successful

Says this shows that the ppl of Pakistan are on one side and the selected govt is on the other. BBZ says those who are still dreaming that the opposition will break its unity for them I say as PPP chairperson: the PPP never backed away from MRD nor will it back off from the PSM

Says BBZ, I ask: as the biggest province with the largest resources are the Baloch destined to still forever remain poor? Says No, the Baloch ppl know how to take their rights and how to fight for them. Says the Baloch will never bow their heads in front of anyone

Says the awaam everywhere in the country wants its rights, its freedom from poverty and hunger. Its freedom to think, speak, breathe. Says what is this freedom where the awaam is not azaad, the politicians are not azaad, journalists are not azaad, judicary is not azaad

Says today all democratic parties are together not just on one stage but one page. Now everyone else has to be on the awaam's page otherwise they need to go home.

Says BBZ: Pakistan's citizens were sold to other countries. Says there is no bigger ghaddari than this. Calls Mush a certified ghaddar. Calls him Bugti's killer, says Mush involved in BB's death

BBZ talking abt the 18th amendment and provincial rights over resources, NFC Award granted by the PPP, Aghaz-e-Huqooq-e-Balochistan

BBZ says the PPP govt made many initiatives for the people of Balochistan. Says that was just the beginning but even that was not tolerated and even those initiatives were not implemented in full

Talking about CPEC, BBZ says it was a very tough process. That this project was supposed to be for the under-developed areas of the country. Says those who today call CPEC a game-changer should know that without Gwadar and without the borders of GB there is no CPEC

We should thank the ppl of Gwadar and G-B for CPEC, says BBZ. Says why do the ppl of Gawadar and GB feel that they have no gains from CPEC. Why have we not made efforts to have locals benefit from CPEC. They should be prioritised.

[@BBhuttoZardari continues talking about how local people need to be prioritised in big budget projects]

Says how can Selected Imran ensure CPEC's success. He can only make it fail. He doesn't want to give anything to the Baloch; in fact wants to take over even your islands.

Says BBZ that the IK govt has ruined the economy. Says this is the tabdeeli Imran and his facilitators talked about.

[BBZ talks about the rising prices of everything.] Says this is the cost people are paying for this govt.

BBZ talks about the missing persons. Asks can you find an example like this in any other country. People are disappearing from every part of the country. No one can help in this, he says, neither parliament nor judiciary.

Says the parents and families of the missing are waiting but the state has not helped them. Says this has to end. Basic justice has to be given to the people. If this continues, then this country cannot afford this and cannot continue like this.

Says BBZ: the missing persons issue has to be resolved once and for all. Says what a joke: the same man who heads NAB, under whose custody more people have died than in Gitmo...says this is the man who is supposed to find justice for the missing? Says this is a joke with justice.

[BBZ talks about SC verdict in Saad Rafique case].

Pleads that the SC also says that every day hearings are held for missing persons, and in the Bugti case, and in the Bhutto judicial murder case and in BB's case.

Says all we can do is hope and we hope the SC does this and stands with democracy and the ppl. Says in the past the judiciary has stood with dictators. Says now we hope the judiciary stands with justice and not as midwife to authoritarianism

Says IK wants every institution in Pakistan to become his Tiger Force. Says look what happened in Karachi. Says the world saw how IK tried to make the Sindh Police his Tiger Force. Says IK wants Rangers, ISI everyone to be his Tiger Force.

BBZ talking about @mjdawar Asks: do we need visas to travel within our own country? Says these guys even want to make ASF and FC their own Tiger Force.

Says IK even wants to turn our fauj into his Tiger Force. Says we will not allow this. These institutions are Pakistan's awaam's institutions, our own institutions, not one party's institutions. We appeal to all of Pakistan: stand with the PDM so we can save Pakistan

And that's the end of @BBhuttoZardari speech.

Now comes Maghrib namaaz which will be led ba-jamaat.

[Maulana speaking and Im sorry but my internet died so couldn't live-tweet. Just managed to tune in right now] Says Maulana: PDM leaders spoke about the terrible state of the economy. Says its a reality that no one can deny.

Says that this incompetent govt has brought growth down drastically. Maulana thanks the people of Balochistan for last year's Azadi march.

[Maulana repeating his Gujranwala speech narrative re economy being imp for security...also talks about the same BJP and Afgh and Iran wanting to trade w/Pakistan].

Maulana goes on abt foreign policy and relations w/Afgh and Iran and China [had said this in Gujranwala too]. Also talking about Kashmir and G-B. Repeats his point abt IK giving a formula for dividing Kashmir into three areas.

Maulana says I refuse to recognise a power that thinks of the awaam as less than animals [The crowd goes crazy].

[Lots of wah wah wahs as Maulana continues to speak].

Says Maulana in every battle there is a Hussain and there is a Yazid. Says we are the followers of Hussain; we do not accept a Yazid.

[Maulana lapsing into Pashto and the crowd responding very very enthusiastically].

Maulana says he is also addressing all those who have been unable to get to the jalsa bec of restrictions. Says I never accepted this govt and I am still adamant on that. Mentions the protests in isl by LHWs, pensioners, docs etc

Hillary Clinton's talk about 'deep state' now also being talked abt by Maulana. [He repeats this part in pashto too]

Says our forefathers and ancestors gave us lessons of freedom and sovereignty for our country and we will fight for that.

Maulana says our fauj is dear to us. Gives the same analogy as he did in Gujranwala ( about palkein).

Tells the powerful: dont mock our love and our sacrifice. Says we will move on with courage and conviction. And that's the end of Maulana's speech.