PESHAWAR: Leading the participants of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s Azadi March, who left Peshawar for Islamabad on Thursday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said that their march on the federal capital was aimed at establishing real democracy in the country.

The main procession of enthusiastic PTI workers left the city at around midday which was joined by party’s convoys from other districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to sources in the motorway police, between 3,000 and 3,500 vehicles such as buses, cars, coaches, trucks and motorcycles were part of the convoy from Peshawar, carrying an estimated 30,000 to 35,000 PTI workers to Islamabad.

The chief minister led the marchers gathered from different parts of Peshawar, who were joined by other convoys on the motorway. Before departure, he urged the people to come out against the rulers who had come to power through rigging in the May 11 general election.

He said that the protest march was the democratic right of people and they couldn’t be stopped by anyone. He said that the ultimate aim of the protest was to rid the country of the present ‘monarchy’. The PTI, he said, was striving for the establishment of true democracy in the country where merit and rule of law would prevail.

He said that the people were fed up with corruption of rulers who looted the national wealth without being held accountable. He claimed that only Imran Khan was capable of recovering the plundered wealth of the country and urged the people to stand up and support the PTI’s struggle to end the era of tyranny.

PTI central leaders, including Saifullah Niazi and Imran Ismail, also spoke on the occasion. Waving party flags, the workers raised slogans such as “long live Imran Khan”, and against the Nawaz Sharif-led government.

PTI provincial president Azam Khan Swati led a convoy of vehicles, which left here for the federal capital at about 3:00pm, after rallies from Battagram, Kohistan, Balakot and upper parts of Hazara reached Peshawar. Amid pro-Imran and anti-PML-N slogans of the PTI workers, Mr Swati claimed before leaving Peshawar that nobody could stop them from entering into the federal capital as they would throwaway any hurdle coming in their way.

“We want clean democracy in the country where an ordinary person could take part in rigging-free election,” said Mr Swati. He claimed that they would not come back until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigned from his office.

“Imran Khan is not struggling for his own benefit, but for making people the masters of their destiny, and this would happen now,” he said.

Mr Swati claimed that there were over 700 vehicles in the convoy he was leading and more workers and vehicles would join this convoy from Balakot, Battagram, Oghi and other parts of Hazara.

“You can imagine how many party workers would be there in the convoy,” he said, adding that those creating hurdles in their way would face a defeat. PTI workers in hundreds of vehicles also left the southern districts of Bannu, Karak, Kohat and Hangu to take part in Azadi March.

The workers from southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa gathered at Rawalpindi interchange in Kohat and then started their journey towards Islamabad. The convoy included buses, coaches, cars and motorcycles. Sources said that parliamentarians from PTI would provide fuel to the vehicles.

Provincial minister for information Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani led the procession from Abbottabad. Addressing the workers, he said that their target was clear and claimed that people of the entire country were supporting them in their struggle to oust corrupt rulers.

The information minister said that that the PTI workers were not carrying any sticks with them and that they would remain peaceful in any case. He said that in case of any hurdle created by the Punjab or federal government, the PTI leadership would sort out issues through talks.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2014