PDM vs Govt: How many people gathered at Minar-e-Pakistan today?

• PDM could hardly gather 10 to 15 thousand attendees: Shibli Faraz
• The Opposition set up a five-acre tent in a 150-acre park: Firdous Ashiq Awan.
• PM Imran Khan single-handedly gathered more people at Minar-e-Pakistan as compared to the 11 parties of PDM: Senator Faisal Javed Khan

As against the claims of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), PTI officials say that the Lahore jalsa at the Minar-e-Pakistan, ended up a fiasco because of low attendance.

Ahead of the jalsa, PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah warned the government of the consequences if it tried to stop the rally, adding that "millions of people" would be coming to the venue.

'Hardly 10,000-15,000 people' — Shibli Faraz

Commenting on PDM's power show, Federal Information Minster Shibli Faraz said that the Opposition could hardly gather 10 thousand to 15 thousand people as against their tall claims.

"Today's jalsa is as cold as the weather," Shibli Faraz said. "Poor attendance shows Lahore has rejected the PDM as well as Maryam Nawaz."

'Only 10,000 chairs' — Firdous Ashiq Awan

Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar Firdous Ashiq Awan maintained that the government did not try to stop the Opposition from carrying out their jalsa, adding that neither the police intervened to stop them from the rally nor the city administration placed any containers to block the roads.

She added that despite all the freedom, the PDM failed to attract enough supporters for their gathering, and ended up setting a five-acre tent in a 150-acre park.

"There were only about 10,000 chairs at the jalsa venue which shows PDM's ineffectiveness," she said. "Today's gathering was not a rally but a classroom where MNAs and MPAs had to mark their attendance."

11 parties together cannot compete with PTI — Faisal Javed

Senator Faisal Javed Khan also said that PDM's rally "flopped" because the Opposition leaders failed to garner enough support for their mission. 

"Just like their previous meetings, this one too was a flopped show," Senator Faisal Javed said. 

Read more: 'Touch me not': Firdous Awan criticises PML-N for new 'philosophy' after rally incident

Comparing the PDM jalsa to PTI's previous rallies at Minar-e-Pakistan, Faisal Javed said that Prime Minister Imran Khan single-handedly filled the historic venue with supporters when he addressed a jalsa there.

"[They could not gather enough people] even after bringing 11 different parties together," he said. "PTI's jalsas had these many people on the stage alone."

Read more: PDM Lahore jalsa: Leaders arrive at the venue to address charged crowd