Hundreds of thousands of People reached at Liberty chowk ,Lahore to take part in "Haqeeqi Azadi March" The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is all set to begin its long "peaceful" march on Friday, as its leader Imran Khan arrived at Lahore's Liberty Chowk, amid hopes the protest will force the government to accepts the party's demand for immediate elections.
This is the second such march by Imran this year, with the first held on May 25.
On Tuesday, the PTI chairman had said the Haqeeqi Azadi march would be held this Friday, claiming it will be the biggest in the history of Pakistan.
The former PM said that the march will begin from Liberty Chowk at 11 am and he will lead it to the Capital through GT Road.
The march will pass through Ferozepur Road, Icchra, Azadi Chowk, Mozang, Data Darbar side.
Sheikh Rashid says 'election date would be acquired'
Former interior minister Sheikh Rashid while leaving for the march expressed optimism that "the nation will come out" and that "an election date would be acquired".
Ahead of the march, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry took to Twitter, calling out the people in Lahore to come out to "change the system of Pakistan". The leader said that if the people do not come out, then "the lives of children will pass through the rotten system".
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah warned that the government will deal with long march participants with an "iron hand", adding that “strict action” will be taken if they attempt to break the law.“If protesters abide by the law, we will facilitate them,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior has issued an office memorandum, telling government employees that they will not be allowed to join the protest.
"Clear civil servants are bound to act as servants of the state and their actions should be subservient to the relevant constitutional provisions to ensure smooth conduct of relations between the federation and the provinces," the memorandum read.
Ahead of the march, Punjab Inspector General Police (IGP) Faisal Shahkar directed the top brass to ensure foolproof security arrangements.
The IG Punjab directed that all available resources should be utilized for the security of the citizens participating in the long march, especially in Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujarat and Rawalpindi and the law and order situation should be maintained at all costs.
PTI’s long ‘march’ to Islamabad: Police top officials asked to ensure foolproof security arrangements
He added that the activities of the participants will be monitored through CCTV cameras at the CPO. He directed the police teams to speed up search and combing operations in all districts and said the routes of long march should also be monitored with CCTV cameras.
