RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday asked its party workers and sympathisers owning petrol pumps in Rawalpindi to ensure that they do not run short of fuel on Azadi March day.

More than 40 petrol filling station owners held a meeting with PTI Punjab President Ijaz Ahmed Chuadhry, Vice President Raja Tariq Mehboob Kiani and PTI Punjab North President Sadaqat Ali Abbasi and discussed the availability of fuel on August 14.

Talking to Dawn, PTI Punjab Vice President Raja Tariq Mehboob Kiani said that the Punjab PTI president had appealed to the party workers and sympathisers owning the pumps to store the fuel for the coming days.

He said that the lists of petrol filling stations had been provided to all such leaders of the caravans to use specific petrol filling stations. He said that the government will likely to impose a ban on use of fuel for heavy vehicles carrying PTI workers toward Islamabad.

He said the PTI chairman, Imran Khan, would meet office bearers from Rawalpindi, Jhelum and Attock districts at Bani Gala on Thursday to chalk out a plan to ensure hurdle-free access of PTI workers caravans coming from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and inner Punjab to the venue of the rally.

Meanwhile, the PTI Punjab North President Sadaqat Ali Abbasi claimed that the PTI leaders and workers were being monitored by police in plainclothes and it would start taking action against the party leaders very soon.

“We have some friends and sympathisers in police and special branch who informed the party about the expected action for detention. The party advised all the leaders and active workers to remain in touch with party leadership to avoid any arrest,” he said.

On the other hand, Commissioner Rawalpindi Zahid Saeed told Dawn that the government had not issued any directive to monitor the activities of any political party.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2014