ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf has decided to seek the support of other parties in the opposition for its proposed Aug 14 march.

The PTI’s core committee held an extensive session at the residence of party chief Imran Khan in Banigala late on Tuesday night.

PML-N to let PTI go ahead with march

A majority of the party’s leaders, according to a participant of the meeting, believed that “moral support” of other parties, particularly the PPP, would strengthen the PTI’s hand in its demand for electoral reforms and for investigation into its claims of fraud in the May 2013 general elections.

The leadership welcomed former president Asif Ali Zardari’s statement in which he supported PTI’s demand for recount of votes and held up its right to hold demonstrations for electoral reforms. Even verbal support from the PPP for the long march will be a huge boost for PTI, they observed.

However, a source in the party said Imran Khan agreed to a suggestion that PPP be requested to “at least endorse the cause” for which the PTI had decided to take to the streets.

“The PTI can gather people on its own and put up a good show, but moral support of other political parties for the long march can be a game-changer,” said a senior PTI leader.

During the meeting, it was also decided to get in touch with some other parties, e.g. Jamaat-i-Islami, MQM, ANP and PAT, for forging a broad consensus on electoral reforms. The PML-Q has already assured PTI of its support for the rally.

In reply to a question whether the PTI intended to use the long march as a platform for launching a movement against the PML-N government, a senior member of the PTI said a majority of the party leaders were in favour of pressing the government to use “legal course of action to address our concerns”.”

During the meeting, PTI leaders deliberated upon alternatives in case the government tried to place obstacles before the march. Imran Khan will lead the marchers from Lahore on the morning of Independence Day. “In case of any hurdle created by the Punjab government, the PTI’s leaders from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will take over charge and reach Islamabad,” he said.

However, sources in the PML-N said the government had decided to allow PTI to go ahead with its plan as long as the participants were peaceful and didn’t create any law and order situation.

Since Islamabad’s D-Chowk has been dug-up for the proposed metro bus project, a sitting PTI member of the National Assembly said, the party’s leadership was considering various options about the final destination of the march.

The PTI assigned its leaders the task of mobilising people from areas of their influence. For example, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Javed Hashmi were asked to bring workers from southern Punjab while Sarwar Khan, an MNA, will be pushing his supporters in Taxila to join the march.

Office bearers of the party at all levels were asked to regularly hold Iftar dinners and engage as many people as they can from different walks of life to ensure their participation in the march.

Published in Dawn, July 17th , 2014