ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) finalized preparations of its Haqeeqi Azadi Long March, which would be started on Friday (today) from Liberty Chowk Lahore, as PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s Azadi container reached Lahore.
According to detail, the PTI Chairman would visit the campus in Lahore and would start the long march from Liberty Chowk today (Friday).
In the first phase, the marchers would reach Shahdara and in the second phase, the long march would reach Gujranwala.
The detail showed that in the third phase, the marchers would reach Gujarat via Sialkot. The long march convoys from Karachi and Quetta would leave for Islamabad on Friday, while the convoys from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, South Punjab and Multan would depart for Islamabad on Wednesday.
According to detail, all the convoys of the Long March from across the country would reach Islamabad on November 4.
SH RASHID URGES PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE IN PTI’S LONG MARCH
Former interior minister Sheikh Rashid said on Thursday that he had reached Lahore Wednesday to participate in the PTI’s long march, scheduled to begin from the city’s Liberty Chowk at 11:00am Friday (today).
In his video message, he appealed to the nation to become part of the march in large numbers and make it a historic event. He also said that he was not feeling safe in Islamabad. He vowed to make the long march successful.
Later addressing a press conference, Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said Thursday that protests and rallies are democratic right of the political parties.
Sh Rashid said that he will participate in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march tomorrow and later he will head to Rawalpindi. “This fight is all about elections.”
“The country needs peace but there is a weak government. Pakistan Army is the guarantor of the national security and we want to maintain its respect and dignity.”
Sh Rashid said that the ruling political parties were fully aware of not being able to challenge Imran Khan. The former interior minister said that Islamabad is not the property of an individual and Rana Sanaullah will not find to way to run away from the federal capital.
He added that protests and rallies are democratic rights of the political parties. The AML chief suggested the federal government to not create hurdles for the marchers.
IGP DIRECTS FOOLPROOF SECURITY FOR LONG MARCH ROUTES
Punjab Inspector General of Police Faisal Shahkar on Thursday directed that foolproof security arrangements should be made for the PTI long march in all the districts of the province, saying all available resources should be utilized for security of citizens participating in long march in all cities cities including Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujarat and Rawalpindi.
“The law and order situation should be maintained at all costs.”
IG Police Faisal Shahkar issued the directives while presiding over a meeting held to review security arrangements for the PTI Long March.
The IGP while directing Lahore and Rawalpindi police to formulate a comprehensive plan to ensure security and traffic flow, said that the implementation of alternative traffic plan should be ensured for convenience of ambulances, buses of educational institutions and passengers. Mr Shahkar directed that additional personnel should be deployed on roads adjacent to Long March route, especially GT Road. He emphasised upon special arrangements on entrance and exit points motorway and inter-provincial routes.
The IG Police said that the law and order situation must be ensured during the long march at any cost while security of the long march should be monitored moment by moment from the control room established in the Central Police Office. The IGP directed the police teams to speed up search and combing operations in the districts of the route, saying that routes of the long march should also be monitored with CCTV cameras.
During the meeting, Additional IG Operations Punjab gave a briefing about the arrangements made regarding the security of the Long March. The IG Police directed all the RPOs and DPOs of the province to personally monitor security arrangements regarding the long march and ensure the atmosphere of law and order through effective coordination.
INTERIOR MINISTRY PLAN FOR PTI LONG MARCH
The Interior Ministry has presented a plan regarding the upcoming Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march to Islamabad.
The interior ministry presented its plan to deal with the participants of the PTI long march during a law and order meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The officials of the interior ministry gave briefing on the PTI long march and law and order situation.
PM Shehbaz Sharif ordered to ensure the maintenance of the law and order situation during the long march. He said that nobody should be allowed to break the law.
‘Article 245’
Earlier Thursday, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the government would not hesitate to impose Article 245 in the capital territory if a law and order situation arises amid Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march.
It was also learnt that in a bid to deal with the PTI’s ‘Haqeeqi Azadi March’ and maintain the law and order situation in the federal capital, the PML-N-led government has decided to deploy the army in Islamabad’s Red Zone.
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that no one would be allowed to enter Red Zone under any circumstances. “No compromise will be made on the security and protection of important buildings in the Red Zone,” he said while issuing a warning to PTI marchers.
“The government will also mobilise the army under Article 245 of the Constitution,” he said, adding that the government will allow PTI to march towards the federal capital only if it fulfilled the requirements
He said that the PTI had submitted an application to hold rally/sit-in in H-9 and G-9 sectors of Islamabad and the administration was reviewing the request.
