GUJRAT, April 16: Chaudhris Shujaat Husain and Pervez Elahi have been asked by the government to bring at least 25,000 people to President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s public meeting at Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala, on Wednesday.

Sources said Mr Husain had asked his younger brother, the Gujrat district Nazim, Chaudhry Shafaat Husain, to use his powers to make the meeting a success.

Sources said the Nazim has since ordered the Regional Transport Authority, traffic police and the police to impound more than 400 vehicles for transporting people to Gujranwala. The agencies have so far impounded about 350 vehicles.

Public transport vehicles were stopped at pickets set up by the police on Monday and Tuesday and the passengers told to make other arrangements.

The sources said besides asking Nazims and councillors to bring people from their areas, employees of Health, Education and Revenue Departments, municipal committee and district council had been directed to join the caravan. The government would bear the cost of transportation.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan People’s Party has directed the local leadership to stop the Nazims and councillors not to attend the Gujranwala meeting. Those defying the directive, party sources said, would not be awarded tickets in the next general elections.