SUKKUR: Chief of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said his Azadi march will not step back from a “political war” that has already begun because the country’s Constitution is in grave danger.

He said this while addressing the participants in the march at the Rohri bus terminal on Monday.

Leaders and workers of the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz reached the venue of the Azadi march to participate and express solidarity with the JUI-F.

The PPP caravan was led by provincial president Nisar Khuhro, ministers Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Syed Awais Qadir Shah, MNA Noman Islam Shaikh and MPA Syed Farrukh Shah.

Speaking on the occasion, Maulana Fazl thanked the opposition parties for extending their support to the JUI-F’s march.

He said that a “flood” of people would reach Islamabad like a big storm and it would remove and throw what he called the “garbage” from parliament.

Workers of PPP and PML-N also join the JUI-F’s anti-govt march in Sukkur

He said that the participation in a large number of people in his march suggested that the current government of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was not a people’s government.

The government cannot run on the basis of dictatorship, he said, adding that all political parties and people from all walks of life had been facing a “worst dictatorship” and the country’s economy had nosedived.

He said that the JUI-F had staged 15 “million marches” so far with cooperation of the people.

Maulana Fazl said that the government had made the Kashmir issue so complicated by itself and now it should not shed crocodile tears over it.

“Everybody knows that Imran Khan is the trader of Kashmir who has bargained on Kashmir,” he alleged.

He said that the voice of the people was being suppressed.

He said that there was a ban on airing his picture or voice clips on TV channels, but the prime minister claimed that he did not ask the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) about it.

Then why was it happening, he asked, and replied that this showed the country’s institutions were not accepting him as their prime minister. So how could the nation accept Mr Khan as the PM when the country’s institutions were not accepting him as the head of the government, he quipped.

There were eight demands inscribed on the container of the JUI-F chief. The demands include resignation of the prime minister and holding of re-election; measures for protection of Islamic clauses in the Constitution; a struggle against poverty, unemployment and inflation and abolishment of current economic policies; protection of diplomatic ties as Pakistan has been left alone due to “wrong” foreign policies, etc.

The Azadi march was started on the National Highway from New Bus Terminal Rohri near Sukkur. The departure of the march was earlier scheduled at noon after the address of the JUI-F chief. However, he arrived at the venue at 1pm. After conclusion of speeches, the caravan of ‘Azadi march’ departed for its onward journey to Islamabad.

Thousands of vehicles were stuck in a traffic jam due to the closure of the National Highway up to 2pm.

The bombproof, luxurious container of Maulana Fazl is equipped with modern facilities including a bed, three sofa sets, LCD TV, bathroom. It has a sitting capacity for 10 persons.

The participants of the Azadi march arrived at Rohri bypass on the night between Sunday and Monday. A tent city was temporarily established there for the night stay with arrangements of more than 200 bathrooms for more than 200,000 people.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2019