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ISLAMABAD / LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has convened a meeting of his party’s core committee on July 15, to finalise the programme for the ‘long march’ the PTI plans to stage in Islamabad on Aug 14 in protest against alleged rigging in the 2013 elections.
According to PTI spokesperson Dr Shireen Mazari, the core committee would finalise the programme after seeking suggestions from party leaders.
She told Dawn on Sunday that the PTI was determined to hold its ‘Azadi March’ peacefully.
Core committee will take a decision after seeking suggestions from party leaders
The government has reportedly sent an invitation to Mr Khan to attend the official Independence Day ceremony in Islamabad, but Dr Mazari expressed ignorance about it.
But a PTI source said the core committee would consider the invitation and decide about the party’s response to it.
PTI’s vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in a statement that the Aug 14 march would be peaceful and there would be no change in its date.
He warned the government not to try to stop the long march, otherwise it would itself be responsible for any situation arising out of its decision. “There will be no chance of a clash if the government does not create hurdles in the way of the long march,” he said.
Mr Qureshi said it was the responsibility of the government to maintain peace during the march.
He appealed to the PTI workers to reach Islamabad on Aug 14 by crossing all hurdles.
Meanwhile, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq at a news conference in Lahore urged Imran Khan not to turn the Independence Day into a day of agitation.
“Indulging in politics at a time when the country is fighting a war will do more harm than good,” said the minister at the hurriedly-called news conference at the Lahore Press Club.
He urged the PTI chief to change the date of his long march. “Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations date back when both Mr Khan and I were not born. This year too August 14 will not be merely an event of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. We will extend an invitation to Mr Khan and other political leaders to enthusiastically take part in the Independence Day celebrations.”
He said everybody should fly national flag on August 14 all over the country instead of those of their respective parties to boost the morale of the defenders of our motherland.
Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2014
