At last, PTI Chairman has announced the Long March onIslamabad, which is to start from Lahore.He has given a start, October 28, tomorrow as a matter of fact, but has neither given a target for termination, nor even a schedule which might indicate how long he expects it to take. It is almost as if he intends to leave Lahore, and research Islamabad. This is not helpful for PTI stalwarts from other cities, like Gilgit or Muzaffarabad, or even Peshawar, who do not know whether they are to go straight to Islamabad, or whether they should join the main procession on the GT Road. At least Mr Khan has had enough mercy on his followers to tell them the route he intends to take.
It is to be assumed that Mr Khan has made arrangements for the logistics of the March, and has some idea of what he intends to do with the crowd that assembles. He really cannot afford a fiasco like the last time, May 25, which ended with PTI supporters running amok in Islamabad, and a rather disappointing turnout. However, though there have been indications that Mr Khan has faced resistance within his own party over the Long March, it is difficult to see how he could avoid it. It had reached a point where his calls for a a Long |March were being derided by opponents, and he either had to do it, or give in.
There should be no doubt that this is a last desperate throw of the dice. If the Long March does not succeed in either forcing the government to concede an election date, or the powers that be from toppling it, he really has nothing left. The recent verdict of the Election Commission of Pakistan in the Tosha Khana reference may well be weighing on his mind, for there is always the danger of further revelations or findings which would tarnish his image among his followers, and thus make them unwilling to come out. The sitting government has long made its preparations, and has promised a peppery welcome. It remains to be seen how they use the little time they have to make final preparations. Mr Khan, by making his announcement just three days ahead of the start date may have denied his opponents enough time to respond, but the flipside has been that he has denied his followers enough time to prepare.
