LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is all set to resume its ‘Haqeeqi Azadi march’ from Wazirabad today (Thursday). PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi will lead the long march to Islamabad in absence of PTI Chairman Imran Khan, who is recovering from the bullet injuries received during an assassination attempt on him.
The party has asked its leaders and workers to convene at the entry point of the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway in the morning from where they will head towards Wazirabad. Moreover, PTI General Secretary Asad Umar will lead a march from Faisalabad to Rawalpindi. The Punjab government has made special security arrangements for the long march. It is expected that Imran Khan would join the march in Rawalpindi at the beginning of the third week of this month and lead it to the Capital.
In this connection, the PTI Vice Chairman chaired a meeting to review the arrangements for the march which was attended by PTI Central Punjab President Dr Yasmin Rashid, General Secretary Hammad Azhar, Information Secretary Andleeb Abbas and others.
Qureshi told the meeting that the Azadi march will resume from Wazirabad and he was confident that a positive outcome was expected from this movement and it will ultimately benefit the people. “The PTI Chairman has taken a clear stand for the stability of Pakistan; he was waging a ‘jihad’ against the politics of personal interests,” he added.
While addressing the meeting, Dr Yasmeen Rashid said that the PTI rejects the First Information Report (FIR) on an assassination attempt on Imran Khan. “This was not a trivial matter; the whole world expressed deep concern over the murderous attack on Khan,” she added. She pointed out that the PTI Chairman had come out onto the streets against the ‘imperialist system’ and the entire Pakistani nation was looking towards him for salvation. “They know that one person who can change the system is Imran Khan,” she added.
Meanwhile, while addressing a select group of journalists, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the First Information Report (FIR) on the Wazirabad attack was not acceptable. “On the direction of Imran Khan, the FIR will be challenged in court. We want an independent investigation into the murderous attack on our Chairman,” he added.
He further said that the PDM government has become a serious threat to economic, political and national security; “very soon the wishes of Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif will die. The long march will reach its destination in any case and will come back with an election date. The only way forward is to let the people choose the government they want,” he added.
In a tweet, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry asserted that the ‘Haqeeqi Azadi march’ will resume on Thursday. “The leaders of the Gujranwala and Lahore divisions would hold a meeting today regarding the march, following which a meeting of the senior leadership would take place. There would be no further delay in the march’s arrival in Rawalpindi where Imran would gather with hundreds of thousands of people,” he added.
Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer Sirajul Haq met Imran Khan along with his delegation and inquired about his health. On this occasion, they also discussed political issues. After the meeting, the Jamaat-e-Islami Amir told the media that if the establishment has decided to remain neutral then the politicians should sit together and draw a mechanism for it. “In the past, martial law was imposed as a result of fights between politicians. A fresh election is the only solution for the current political deadlock and hence it would be prudent to hold the elections after carrying out the electoral reforms. The economy was suffering due to the deadlock and ultimately the people were suffering,” he added. “However, it is the right of every party to hold political meetings, processions and long marches,” he added.
To a question, he said that neither the PTI has invited them to take part in the march nor did they have any intention of doing so. He added that anybody would take advantage of a weak election commission; “we will not accept the elections without electoral reforms”.
Meanwhile, Adviser to Chief Minister of Punjab on Home Affairs Omar Sarfraz Cheema told the media that the PML-N leaders in Hafizabad threatened to kill Khan on stage, adding that the PML-N was propagating ‘religious hatred’ against the PTI Chairman. He also alleged that Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah was threatening the PTI chief even after the attack. “The situation of the country will worsen if elections are not held,” he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022