–Fazl says Opp has denied all govt demands, will hold sit-in as per decisions made by judiciary
–PPP, ANP, and PML-N leaders join Azadi marchers, say no option but to send Imran home
–Protesters express solidarity with Kashmiri people, denounce India for rights violations
KARACHI: The anti-government march led by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Sunday kicked off its journey from Karachi towards Islamabad, where it will stage a sit-in to protest the alleged rigging in last year general elections that saw the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rise to power.
The protest, dubbed as Azadi March, has been joined by the major opposition parties, including the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), seminaries students and others.
Besides JUI-F leadership, PPP leaders Raza Rabbani, Saeed Ghani, PML-N leaders Mohammad Zubair, Nihal Hashmi, Awami National Party (ANP) leader Shahi Syed and others, are on board the leading container.
On Sunday evening, the caravan reached Hyderabad and after a brief layover, left for Sakrand — the home district of PPP Parliamentarians President Asif Ali Zardari. The aim was to reach Sukkur where the caravan will stay for the night before proceeding towards Punjab.
Fazl was initially to march on Islamabad on Oct 27, but the protest date was later changed to Oct 31 owing to the Kashmir black day.
Addressing the participants of the march at Sohrab Goth, Fazl 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.
Addressing the participants, he stuck to the demand of PM Imran Khan’s resignation, saying: “Hundreds of thousands have gathered in Karachi; what will the government do when people from across the country reach Islamabad?”
Imran will have to go home, he asserted.
He also commented on the dialogue held between a government-led delegation on Saturday, saying the opposition had denied all demands of the negotiation team sent by the government and will hold their sit-in as per the decisions made by the judiciary.
He also took the powers that be to the task for cancellation of the national identity card of JUI-F leader Hafiz Hamdullah, saying they installed a green card holder as the caretaker prime minister in 1993. “But, now they question our citizenship and declare us Pashtun and Afghans,” he added.
He said the opposition parties oppose such “flawed laws” as it believes in “democracy and the constitution and wants the sovereignty of the country”.
“I will announce the future course of action in Islamabad,” he said, referring to the sit-in on Oct 31 in the federal capital.
“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 for participating in the march.
Addressing the crowd, ANP’s Shahi Syed said the “incompetent [PTI] government” must be thrown out to save Pakistan.
Zubair, the former governor of Sindh, said that the entire country is united against the Indian atrocities in Kashmir.
“Nawaz Sharif has instructed his workers and supporters to welcome Maulana Fazlur Rehman in every city and town of the country and become part of his Azadi March,” he said, adding that every PML-N worker will support Fazl.
PPP leader Raza Rabbani said that Kashmir’s jails are full and youngsters are being tortured but remember that movements for the right to self determination couldn’t be suppressed anywhere in the world.
The sad thing is that the Muslim community is silent on the atrocities being committed in Kashmir, he said, demanding that the community raise its voice for the Kashmiri people and support them.
“We speak about freedom in Kashmir but when I look at my own country, my heart weeps tears of blood, said Rabbani, adding that this is because he sees innocent children and women on the roads whose fathers or husbands or brothers or children have been missing for years.”
Meanwhile, thousands of supporters of opposition parties left Quetta to participate in the march. JUI-F Balochistan chief Maulana Abdul Wasey led the caravan.
“We will continue our struggle till removal of present rulers,” Maulana Wasey told reporters before leaving for Islamabad.