LAHORE, Aug 16: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal has considerably curtailed the third phase of its road caravan in southern Punjab which will now be completed in two days instead of five days as was originally planned.

The caravan will now commence from Kasur on Aug 19 and conclude at Minchanabad the following day. Its status also has been lowered as the MMA’s central leadership has decided to stay away and the second rung leaders will head the mass mobilisation campaign.

The MMA has decided to skip the travel through cities like Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan which the caravan was earlier scheduled to pass through on the third and fourth day.

According to the revised schedule released to the media on Thursday, MMA deputy secretary-general Liaquat Baloch, Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan secretary-general Qari Zawwar Bahadur, Pir Ejaz Hashmi, Pakistan Islami Tehreek’s Maulana Abdul Jalil Naqvi and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam leader Prof Abdur Rehman Ludhianvi are among the leaders who will now head the caravan.

The caravan will leave Kasur on Aug 19 and reach Vehari in the evening where a public meeting will be held. It will travel through Deepalpur, Pakpattan, Arifwala and Burewala where arrangements have been made for the MMA workers to receive the caravan for brief stopover and the accompanying leaders will deliver speeches.

The next day, it will leave Vehari for Minchanabad where the leaders will speak to a public meeting late in the evening. Before that, the MMA leaders will speak at a roadside rally at Bahawalnagar. The alliance has made arrangements for receptions at Mailsi, Khairpur Tamewali, Hasilpur and Chishtian.

Meanwhile, Liaquat Baloch has said the first rally of the All Parties Democratic Movement on the Independence Day had established that the new alliance had become the representative of the united opposition and the people had accepted it as such by participating in the rally.

In a statement issued to the media on Thursday, he said the success of the APDM was a proof of the rulers’ failure on domestic and international fronts.

He said the movement would apply all the force at its command to prevent Gen Pervez Musharraf from seeking his re-election for another term in the presidency from the same assemblies while retaining his uniform.