Says Imran must resign; Protesters’
caravan from Quetta also depart for Capital
Observer Report
Karachi
The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F ‘Azadi March’, led by it’s chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, set out on Sunday afternoon from Karachi’s Sohrab Goth area towards Islamabad and reached Hyderabad at 7 pm. The caravan was to spend night at Sukkur.
Thousands of people are participating in the march. In addition, convoys of political parties, including PPP, PML-N, Awami National Party and others, joined the march.
Besides JUI-F leadership, PPP leaders Raza Rabbani, Saeed Ghani, PML-N leaders Mohammad Zubair, Nihal Hashmi, ANP’s Shahi Syed and others, are onboard the leading container.
Addressing the participants of the march, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said, “We had promised to our Kashmiri brethren that we will observe a day to express solidarity with them.”
“The entire nation is on the same page on the issue of Kashmir,” he said, adding that there has been a curfew in Kashmir for the past three months. He demanded the international community take notice of human rights violations in occupied Kashmir.
“We don’t accept the [general] elections held on July 25 and its results […] Imran Khan must resign,” he said. “The people of Karachi have responded to our call, I thank them for it […] I appreciate workers of all [opposition] political parties,” he added.
“The government has resorted to uncivilised tactics […] after Hafiz Hamdullah’s matter of citizenship, they have arrested Mufti Kifayatullah.” Talking about the domestic political scenario, the JUI-F chief said that the opposition had rejected all demands of the negotiation team sent by the government and will hold their sit-in as per the decisions made by the judiciary.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan will have to resign. Hundreds of thousands have gathered in Karachi; what will the government do when people from across the country reach Islamabad?” he asked.
He asserted that the protesters would not violate any laws and the march would comply with all the conditions stipulated by the administration. He said the protesters would not be intimidated by any govt tactics.
The JUI-F chief questioned the forces who had brought Moin Qureshi [a green card holder] from abroad in 1993 to appoint him as caretaker prime minister for three months. “Our citizenship [on the other hand] is questioned; they declare us Pashtun and Afghani,” he said.
Fazlur Rehman’s remarks came in the backdrop of Pemra’s directive, a day earlier, asking all TV channels to refrain from inviting JUI-F’s Hafiz Hamdullah, saying that he is a “confirmed alien”.
The JUI-F chief said that the opposition doesn’t believe in such “flawed laws”. He said what that the opposition does believe in is democracy and the Constitution and wants the sovereignty of the country. “I will announce the future course of action in Islamabad,” he said. “We support positive politics. We have spent our entire life in loyalty to the country’s Constitution and we have faced extremism (in return),” he said, adding that the government will have to answer for the tactics it has been employing against the opposition. He thanked the political leaders participating in the march.
The march is scheduled to reach Islamabad via Sukkur and various districts of Punjab.
Meanwhile thousands of supporters of opposition parties left Quetta to participate in the march. JUI-F Balochistan chief Maulana Abdul Wasey is leading the caravan. The march started from Kuchlak area of Quetta. “We will continue our struggle till removal of present rulers,” Maulana Wasey told reporters before leaving for Islamabad.
“Our sit-in will continue in Islamabad till resignation of the prime minister,” PPP leader Ali Madad Jattak said. The participants of the march would pass through Loralai and Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab and then reach Islamabad to join the anti-government protest.
President of PML-N Shahbaz Sharif held a telephonic conversation with Maulana Fazlur Rehman to discuss the Azadi March. Shahbaz congratulated Fazl over successful conduct of march. Azadi March under the leadership of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman will enter Islamabad on October 31 where he will hold a rally in H-9. JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s container got stuck on an overhead bridge at the Karachi-Hyderabad motorway, on Sunday. The firebrand politician has been given every facility in his container so he could address the rallies at different points during the march. Caravans from Balochistan will join in at Sukkur. The marchers will spend the night in Sukkur and will leave for Punjab through Ubauro on Monday morning.
Sindh Information and Archives and Labour Minister Saeed Ghani said the PPP’s Karachi division has made arrangements to welcome the protesters and they will be received by PPP leaders in Jamshoro.
In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, marchers gathered at meeting points in Pes hawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Charsadda and Buner. Several workers of the JUI-F were being arrested from different cities.
