Bloodletting likely during PAT march, PM told

E-Paper | March 03, 2026

LAHORE: The government is unlikely to allow the Pakistan Awami Tehreek to take out its Inqilab (revolution) march as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been told that some hitmen have infiltrated into its folds for bloodletting during the march.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, however, will be allowed to continue with its Azadi march after a ‘nominal’ resistance by police.

Know more: ‘PTI and PAT on board for joint march’

A senior government official told Dawn that an intelligence agency briefed the prime minister on Tuesday about the impact of the marches the PAT and PTI would be undertaking on Aug 14.

Mr Sharif was told that some hired-guns had infiltrated into the PAT ranks and they would initiate a clash with law-enforcement personnel and then resort to firing on the workers, he said.

About the capability of both the PAT and PTI to gather people, the intelligence agency said the two could not assemble more than 100,000 protesters – PAT about 10,000 to 20,000 and PTI around 80,000.

The agency was also quoted as claiming to have detected some ‘undesirable foreign links’ of PAT.

The official would not explain these links.

However, Leader of Opposition Syed Khursheed Shah recently asked the government to investigate if the Zionist lobby was behind the marches.

Keeping in view the intelligence reports, the official said, the government decided not to let PAT go ahead with its Inqilab march.

The prime minister, however, directed that only ‘administrative’ measures should be taken to keep the PTI march under control and the police should offer only ‘nominal’ resistance if the participants of the Azadi March tried to remove the containers the administration had placed on various roads leading to the federal capital, the official said.

Meanwhile, the prime minister lost his hope in the mediation of the Jamaat-i-Islami emir and avoided meeting Sirajul Haq, who was carrying PTI’s response to the proposal the government had conveyed the previous day.

Only Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was there to receive the JI delegation at Model Town offices of the PML-N on Tuesday.

Shahbaz was told that the PTI wanted to be allowed to continue with its march and that the government should announce acceptance of its demands at the end of the march so that Imran Khan could return as a ‘winner’.

The government was ready to allow the Azadi march on the condition that the participants would remain in Islamabad only for one day.

Published in Dawn, Aug 13th, 2014

TuQ, PTI Long March

Pakistan

Amjad Mahmood is a Lahore-based reporter for Dawn with over three and a half decades of experience. He covers agricultural issues, as well as Punjab’s politics and governance. He can be found on X at @Amjad012345.

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Hasan Hasni

Aug 13, 2014 06:43am

Why can

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Hira

Aug 13, 2014 06:58am

Difference between PTI and PAT is if government let both the parties enter capital than PAT can even sit for more than a week without food and shelter whereas it is very difficult for PTI workers to sit even for a day. As far the violence is concerned this is baseless allegation on PAT, if they do have weapons they could have used long ago and can use even now to remove containers in front of model town. Further what kind of Intelligence report is this where its suggested than PAT can only bring 20000 people, they have already bought more than 50000 people in islamabad in 2011 and if the report is true is Govt afraid of 20000 people only?

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Ahed

Aug 13, 2014 06:58am

They only want the pm to quit , so it's clear it's not rigging or election reforms , it is something else that everyone has been doubting.

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Ahmed

Aug 13, 2014 07:01am

Not accepting election results (which, even if all of Imran Khans allegations are correct, will still not be enough to take the federal or panjab provincial government away from PMLN) is irresponsible behavior on Imran Khan's part. And as such, to conntribute to making Pakistan a lawless state with all the bloodshed and economic losses that come with it. Failing to distinguish between Imran Khan and law abiding political parties is like failing to distinguish between cancer cells and healthy cells.

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stupiditydefined

Aug 13, 2014 07:01am

Seems like a deal has been brokered. PTI will be allowed to do the azadi march for one day. PTI activists will be allowed to remove the containers and reach islamabad. IK will take a lenient stance on Nawaz Sharif resigning while all other demands will be agreed to by the PM at the end of the day.

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Hashim khan

Aug 13, 2014 07:01am

They should assign them designated places in Islamabad like f9 park. No protestors are allowed outside of that.

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Waqar Jan

Aug 13, 2014 07:16am

@Ahmed U not getting the point. Its not about IK or NS winning or losing - its about correcting the system. If u don't give punishments this practice will continue forever. But if people are charged and punished people wont do it in future. I can assure u that although no one has been charged till now but because of all this political activity someone doing it next time will slightly be more scared. If only 30 people are charged and punished it will reduce the rigging by 90% for next election. That's the whole point of all this.

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Muhammads

Aug 13, 2014 07:22am

Why there is always a foreign hand? No Pakistani can ever be responsible for its own actions. Are people not tired of hearing this from the politicians?

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Adil Haider

Aug 13, 2014 07:39am

Unfortunately, most analysts I have read on the situation have failed to identify the phenomenon that best describes what is happening in Pakistan...an attempt at a colour revolution...colour revolutions are a means of changing elected governments by disenchanted minorities crying foul over perceived grievances...usually the authoritarian nature of the government, electoral fraud and corruption are criticized They have enjoyed success in countries like Ukraine and Georgia and failed in others like Iran. these revolutions have been accused of being directed and funded from abroad like the Soros Foundation and USAID in the case of Central Asian countries

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nsk

Aug 13, 2014 08:06am

It's important to note that many of these protesters are just out looking to pick a fight. They jump onto any bandwagon for a party. They do not sincerely care about any social cause nor do they even understand the logistics of politics in PAK. They are not intellectually strong. They are being used. People must try to understand that going out in crowds can be dangerous considering the prevailing situation in Pak. My message to the women of Pak, please convince your sons, husbands, brothers, or fathers not take part in any march or protest, because now's not the time.

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Guest

Aug 13, 2014 08:35am

Did the government have no idea about these mercenaries before? What are our intelligence agencies doing?

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Mohammad Akhatar

Aug 13, 2014 08:37am

@Hasan Hasni Mr. Hasni you are talking tolerance in Muslims. These two things can not go together in todays' muslim. The tolerance was gone when Calipha Usman and Ali were murdered by muslims. I pray, we all pray to Allah to give these people tolerance, patience so extermism and terrorism can be eliminated from the earth.

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Kaleem

Aug 13, 2014 09:36am

@Hira 20000 persons are still enough for a capital to be stormed. It is not UK where 200K will gather and disperse peacefully, we are highly charged and emotional people, and our protest starts from damaging our public property.

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Rafiq Khawaja

Aug 13, 2014 09:46am

"Nominal" resistance for PTI? Has anybody seen the trenches and containers that Islamabad has become? Does anyone know of about thousand activists arrested in the last few days.

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mazharuddin

Aug 13, 2014 10:14am

The best way to diffuse this situation is to agree for an early election by all parties.

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Ali

Aug 13, 2014 10:17am

Right to Protest??? What about the rights of the people living in Islamabad. Brining such a massive crowd to a city which can only be approached after walking over the residential areas and then creating a threat towards their security. How can the leaders of these marches be sure if their crowd will not bring along with them unwanted thieves and robbers who would take benefit of this opportunity to slip into the capital along with their weapons. But this is the sort of threat through which they are black mailing the government isn't it. Halt all activity in the capital and make the life of its residents miserable until conditions and demands of IK are met.

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indian

Aug 13, 2014 10:46am

Why dont you pakistanis have no patience. No patience with hondus to begin with then no patience with bhutto then no patience with all the minorities then no patiences with other sects then no patience with ppp or plmn after having no patience with musharraf?? Lack of patience would be the cause of ur fall. Have some faith in God and urself.

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urooj saifi

Aug 13, 2014 10:50am

@Hashim khan please leave F9 park for the public to enjoy - can you imagine what will happen to it once the protesters leave. Protests should take place o constitution avenue where 'aam aadmi' are not allowed anyway.

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Nasir Khan

Aug 13, 2014 11:10am

"The agency was also quoted as claiming to have detected some

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Ameer

Aug 13, 2014 11:14am

The secret of freedom and prosperity lies in educating people, whereas the secret of Monocracy and tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.

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Ahmad

Aug 13, 2014 11:27am

IK raised concerns on the legitimacy of the elections in May 2013, continued to assert this throughout last 15 months. This situation is an outcome of government not paying heed to his reservations and governments brutal action against PAT workers in June. It is all the doing of government.

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ASM

Aug 13, 2014 11:32am

Where are those 57 latest weapons which were found in Minhaj-ul-Quran trust alleged by Punjab Police? Why is the Govt. so afraid if PAT will be bringing only 20000 people? You can certainly expect induction of some armed assailants by the ruling party to sabotage the March and let the world believe that PAT is an anarchist organization.

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Merchant

Aug 13, 2014 11:57am

Such protests are a democratic right of democratic people and should not be stopped if the government is democratic. It appears that Sharif Baadshah and Brothers are more worried about their family business of politics and desperate to cling to power with the help of numerous Gullu Butts they have nurtured over the years. What a shame!!

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Satish Kumar Dogra

Aug 13, 2014 01:29pm

Being an Indian, I have only a distant knowledge of what might be the ground reality of the situation in Pakistan, but from whatever I am able to make out, the march and the protest are neither in the overall interest of Pakistan nor in the interest of democracy. The type of violence that has been taking place will do no society good. First, the police acted ruthless and killed people in firings and now they seem to have been given instruction to receive beatings rather than hit back. Neither of these is good. A society should have a police that can be tough when required but should be generally people-friendly. This article and the protest it talks about brings a whiff of fresh breeze that the citizens are showing resentment against politicians of both hues.

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NASAH (USA)

Aug 14, 2014 05:48am

PLEASE do avoid it at any cost.

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mike ghaous USA

Aug 15, 2014 09:20am

disinformation at its best, just for publicity ..

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