RAWALPINDI: After veteran politician Javed Hashmi’s departure to Multan, cracks started to surface within Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and its allies in Rawalpindi, where PTI asked the Awami Muslim League (AML) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) to bring their own rallies to Islamabad and not join the PTI rally from Rawalpindi.

“PAT workers may create law and order situation and the local leaders of PAT have been advised to join the Azadi March in Islamabad, to ensure that our march from Rawalpindi remains peaceful,” a senior PTI leader told Dawn.

He said that PTI workers in Rawalpindi did not want to include PAT in their march, especially after the statements of Dr Tahirul Qadri on revolution.

“The one-man party wants to steal the show to improve their politics under PTI’s banner,” he alleged.

He said the PTI workers and sympathisers were against the aggressive attitude of the PAT leader, thus they were asked not to join PTI in Rawalpindi at least.

PTI leadership has asked AML and PAT to lead their rallies to Islamabad separately

District President Arif Abbasi told Dawn: “We welcomed all the parties to join PTI, but we will not allow PAT workers to use the PTI rally to score points with the government.”

“Awami Muslim League (AML) of Sheikh Rashid Ahmed will bring a ‘dozen’ of their workers in a separate rally.

“PTI local chapter had no contact with Sheikh Rashid and his party, thus he will join the Azadi March with PTI chairman in Islamabad,” he said.

He said PTI Rawalpindi Chapter handed over 2,000 wagons and 8,000 motorbikes to the unit in-charges to transport Azadi March participants on August 14.

He said the PTI directed its workers and supporters to gather at Faizabad and start the march towards Islamabad on August 14 at 5pm.

The rallies from six tehsils of Rawalpindi will culminate at Faizabad, from where they will go to Jinnah Avenue.

He added that PTI has formed a nine-member team of lawyers to get bails for more than 130 party workers who have been arrested across the district.

He did, however, admit that despite all the arrangement, the party has no clear direction about the sit-in.

PAT Information Secretary Suhail Abbasi told Dawn that PAT workers arriving from Rawalpindi, Azad Kashmir and adjoining areas will join their party’s rally, which will be coming from Lahore, at Faizabad.

He also said that there were differences between PAT and PTI, but for the “interest of the people” the party will join PTI in Islamabad.

AML leader and former Rawal Town tehsil nazim Sheikh Rashid Shafique said that AML workers will bring out a motorcycle rally from Lal Haveli at 3pm and join PTI wherever it will meet the workers.

“We have no contact with PTI leaders, but on the directions of Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, the workers of AML will join PTI Azadi March. Sheikh Rashid will come to Islamabad from Lahore with PTI Chairman Imran Khan,” he said.

Published in Dawn, Aug 14th, 2014