OKARA/KASUR, Nov 13: Undeterred by the detention of Ms Benazir Bhutto and other top PPP leaders, workers of the party began their planned long march from Lahore on Tuesday. They dodged police pickets at some places and successfully reached Okara.

Punjab PPP president Shah Mahmood led the caravan of cars. The motorcade foiled the police bid to stop the procession from entering Kasur and later Okara and entered both the districts via rural areas.

In Okara, PPP workers set tyres on fire on the G T Road at two points, as police cordoned off the Okara Press Club after reports that Mr Qureshi planned to address local journalists.

Hundreds of PPP workers led by district president Muhammad Ashraf, Aris Chaudhry and Rana Ikram Rabbani blocked the GT Road. Police used batons to disperse them.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Qureshi claimed that Ms Bhutto had severed all contacts with the government after the imposition of emergency. He said the PPP was ready to make a grand alliance with all opposition parties.

He said that Kasur police had registered a case against 18 PPP leaders and workers, including MNA Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed and himself.

He said that police tried their best but failed to arrest him, adding that he would lead the march from Okara to Faisalabad on Wednesday.

In Kasur, 19 PPP activists were arrested and cases registered against 30 others.

The motorcade comprising a dozen vehicles reached Mustafabad at noon. The number of vehicles increased to 40 when MNA Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmad, MPA Syed Muzffar Hasan Kazmi, Waqar Hakim Ali, Tayyab Rizvi, Jamil Kalas, Sheikh Basit and others joined the march.