Fazlur Rehman led Azadi March on its way to federal capital

The marchers will spend night in Sukkur while second stay will be in Multan.

KARACHI (Dunya News) - The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F)  Azadi March , led by the faction s chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, set out on Sunday afternoon from Karachi s Sohrab Goth area towards Islamabad.

Thousands of people, including seminary students, are participating in the march. In addition, convoys of political parties, including the PPP, the PML-N, the Awami National Party (ANP) 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.

The marchers will spend night in Sukkur while second stay will be in Multan and third stay will be in Lahore.

The rally was welcomed at Hyderabad where a large number of devotees were present and raising slogans.

President of PML-N Shehbaz Sharif held a telephonic conversation with Maulana Fazur Rehman to discuss the Azadi March. Shehbaz congratulated fazl over successful conduct of March.

Azadi March under the leadership of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman will enter in Islamabad on October 31 where he will hold a rally in H-9.

Earlier, the march proceeded to the Superhighway (M9) after smaller demonstrations emerged from the city’s six districts and gathered at Sohrab  Goth where the JUI-F flexed its political muscles.

Fazl addressed massive gathering of the protesters at Sohrab Goth, and lashed out at the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for what he claimed “compromise” on the Kashmir dispute.

“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.”

The protesters are expected to spend the night in Sukkur where arrangements have been made with facilitations by the provincial government.

All buses and other vehicles have been transported to the specified spots to kick off the massive demonstration. Strict security measures have been taken by the administration.

Fazl’s address followed beginning of rallies in many cities of the country, which are expected to join the JUI-F chief’s march towards Islamabad. The firebrand politician has been given every facility in his container so he could address the rallies at different points during the march. Sources told Dunya News that several workers of the JUI-F were being arrested from different cities.

According to a no objection certificate (NOC) issued by the office of the deputy commissioner of Karachi’s East zone, permission has been granted to JUI-F leader Maulana Fatehullah, for the party to hold a rally adjacent to Super Highway, near Total petrol pump in Sohrab Goth.

On late Saturday, the government and the opposition’s Rehbar Committee struck a deal after entering into tough talks and breaking the earlier deadlock.

According to the terms and conditions of the Azadi March, the protesters will not enter into Islamabad’s Red Zone and instead will culminate their demonstration in H-9 area in Sunday bazaar grounds.

During a press conference after talks, government’s negotiation committee head and Defence Minister Pervez Khattak recalled Prime Minister Imran Khan’s promise that the participants will see no obstacles from the government as long as the protest is peaceful.

According to the agreement, the government will not stand in the protesters’ way and neither will the participants face any difficulty in getting food delivered.

Importantly, the participants will not be allowed to venture far from the designated venue, whereas the responsibility of the internal security will lie with the organisers.

The leaders further pointed out that in case of a violation of the terms and conditions, and damage to lives or property, the relevant action as per the law will be taken.

The local administration in Islamabad has yesterday placed containers and barricades ahead of the march.

Thousands of policemen have been tasked to prepare for any untoward situation and maintain law and order situation in the capital city. Police had held a drill to perform anti-riot exercises and learnt how to use water cannons to disperse protesters.

Effective security measures have been formulated for the safeguarding Faizabad Interchange and other entry points, including Rawat and Tarnol. A two-layer security ring has been created around the Red Zone for security of government buildings. Hundreds of containers had been placed at the roadsides and greenbelts to use them in case need arise.