November 16, 2007	Friday	Ziqa’ad 05, 1428

GUJRANWALA, Nov 15: The police on Thursday went on with their job to arrest leaders and workers of the PPP while they in turn determined to go ahead with their long march strategy.

In Gujranwala, over 40 PPP activists and leaders, including an MPA and two nephews of PPP city president Lala Idrees, were arrested during an overnight crackdown who were later detained at the Cantonment police station here.

Reports said that these activists gathered at the residence of MPA Mehr Shabbir Ahmad for making arrangements for according a warm reception to a road caravan at Rawalpindi bypass intersection. But the police raided there and arrested them.

The police also conducted a raid on the factory of PPP city president Lala Idrees and arrested his nephews Imran and Shafiq, his manager Manzoor Ahmad and three guards, Saleem, Shaukat and Bashir Ahmad.

After assessing the situation, the road caravan leaders, Abdul Qadir Shaheen, Manzoor Ahmad and divisional president Imtiaz Safdar Warraich, changed the route and timing of the long march and they would now reach Gujranwala from Muridke on Friday (today).

FAISALABAD: Police spoiled efforts of PPP activists intending to go for a long march from Faisalabad to Sheikhupura on Thursday and arrested over three dozen workers and leaders, including two MPAs.

Eyewitness said that police gathered outside the residence of former PPP Punjab secretary-general and MPA Rana Aftab Ahmed in People’s Colony and arrested PPP activists when they tried to start the long march under his leadership.

Police arrested MPAs Rana Aftab Ahmed and Jahanzaib Imtiaz, former Jaranwala town nazim Abdul Basit, Munawar Sindhu, Arshad, Azhar, Zafar Iqbal, Adnan, Javed, Iqbal, Ataullah and others and shifted them to jails in different police stations.

However, no case was reported against them till the filing of this report.

PPP city information secretary Zafar Iqbal said the struggle would continue till the restoration of democracy and lifting of emergency.

SHEIKHUPURA: The `long march’, led by PPP leaders Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed (MNA), Punjab PPP secretary-general Ghulam Abbas and others, reached Sheikhupura on Thursday afternoon.

Local party leaders, including former Punjab senior minister Malik Mushtaq Ahmed Awan, district president Altaf Hussain Virk advocate, Javed Bhatti, Chaudhry Tawwakalullah Virk and Aftab Sial, warmly welcomed participants of the long march. Scores of PPP activists were also present.

They chanted slogans `go Musharraf go’ and demanded withdrawal of emergency and Provisional Constitution Order. The procession later proceeded to Gujranwala.

MUZAFFARGARH: PPP workers took out a protest rally from district courts to Qinwana Chowk against detention of Benazir Bhutto, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and a large number of activists.

Dozens of PPP workers, lawyers and students attended the rally which was led by PPP district president Mian Mohsin Qureshi, information secretary Mazhar Pahoor and PP-155 ticket holder Rana Mahboob.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Qureshi said that the Musharraf government was adopting fascist tactics, but it would not succeed in its designs.

He said Benazir Bhutto had brought the message of real democracy and the king’s party was afraid of her popularity.

Mazhar Pahoor said that PPP workers could not be deterred by mass arrests made by the government.

A heavy police contingent escorted the rally to avert any untoward incident.