ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the PPP’s long march against the federal government would likely reach Islamabad on March 6 or 7, it is learnt.
According to the sources, the PPP would start long march from Mazar-e-Quaid Karachi on February 27 at noon. The participants of the long march would stay at Sukkur at night and will be hosted by the PPP stalwart and former Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah.
The sources said that Bilawal would address a public meeting in Sukkur. He said that the long march would stay in Rahim Yar Khan on the night of February 28 and would reach Multan on March 1. They said that former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani would host the march in Multan.
The long march procession would reach Chichawatni on March 2 and the PPP has planned to gather 100,000 people in Chichawatni.
The sources said that after the night stay in Chichawatni, the march will proceed to Lahore and will stay over there on March 3. The party will organise a big gathering in Lahore and the protest march will leave for Wazirabad and stay there on March 4.
The PPP’s long march would reach Gujar Khan on March 5 and after the night stay in the city, it would move to Islamabad on March 6.
The Awami National Party (ANP) on Monday had announced that it would participate in the PPP’s February 27 long march on Islamabad against the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government.
The announcement came after a PPP delegation led by former opposition leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah met ANP central general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain at the Bacha Khan Markaz.
PPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman said that the PPP’s long march from Karachi on February 27 is against the PTI government due to unemployment, mismanagement, misery and corruption.
She appealed to every citizen to join the long march against this “incompetent” government. She said in her tweet on Tuesday that there are reports that the government is going to increase the prices of petroleum products by Rs 6 to 12 per liter.
She said that at present, the price of petrol is already Rs 148 per liter and the government has increased the price of petrol by Rs 53 per liter in three years. She said that it would be difficult for the citizens to buy petrol in the next two years, if the prices are increased continuously.
She said that that at present, the overall inflation rate is 13 percent and weekly inflation is 18.42 percent and for the lower class it is above 20 percent. She said that in this situation, a sharp rise in petrol prices is unacceptable.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022