LAHORE, May 19: The Defence of Pakistan Council announced on Saturday that it would undertake a long march from Karachi to Islamabad on May 27 in protest against an anticipated reopening of Nato supply routes by the government.

“We have unanimously decided to initiate a long march against the possible restoration of Nato supplies. We have also decided that before launching the march, member parties of the DPC will jointly launch massive protest processions across the country after Friday prayers,” DPC chief Maulana Samiul Haq told journalists after a meeting of the alliance of over 40 religious parties at Mansoora.Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Syed Munawar Hasan, Awami Muslim League president Sheikh Rasheed, PML-Z chief Ijazul Haq, Gen (retd) Hameed Gul and Maulana Mohammad Ahmad Ludhianvi also attended the press conference.The DPC chief said the meeting constituted a committee, headed by JI Secretary General Liaquat Baloch, that would decide the route and schedule of the long march.

“Our prime objective is to build a peaceful pressure on the government to stop it from taking a decision to reopen Nato supply routes. And if the government doesn’t do so, we will try to stop Nato supplies through the long march,” he said.

Mr Haq said the government’s decision on any issue would be illegal and unconstitutional after the conviction of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani by the Supreme Court.

“The DPC firmly believes that since the prime minister stands convicted, he and his cabinet have become illegal and unconstitutional. Hence the government has no right to take important decisions about the country’s defence,” he maintained.

He deplored the government for bypassing parliament while taking a decision on Nato supplies.

Maulana Sami held the government responsible for not implementing a joint resolution of parliament to stop drone attacks. He said the DPC had rejected options of any conditional or unconditional reopening of Nato supply routes because it had no way except to stop this government’s act.

When asked what the council would do if the government restored Nato supplies, he said it would make a new strategy to stop or block Nato containers peacefully. He requested lawyers, students and political and religious parties, particularly the PML-N,

PTI and JUI-F to support and join the protest.

He said he had invited PML-N president Nawaz Sharif, PTI chairman Imran Khan and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to participate in the DPC meeting and support its move to stop reopening of Nato supply routes, but none of them turned up.

“Yesterday, I came to know that Imran Khan will surely attend our meeting. But later I was told that he departed for London for some work,” he said and added that ‘London’ had become a very problematic city to Pakistan’s national interest.

“Whenever any sensitive national issue is debated for the country’s interest, our leadership immediately departs for London,” he lamented.

Maulana Sami said if the government allowed Nato supplies to the country’s enemies, the US stay in the region would be prolonged for up to 10 more years.

He said had Mr Nawaz, Mr Imran and Maulana Fazl attended the meeting it would have been a time for great pleasure for the entire DPC leadership.

The DPC chief appealed to the drivers and owners of containers not to supply weapons, wheat and other eatables to enemies of Pakistan.

Talking to Dawn, Hafiz Saeed said that the DPC expected participation of more than 100,000 people in the long march.

Rehman Malik meets JI leader

Interior Minister Rehman Malik visited Mansoora after the DPC meeting to clarify the government’s position on the issue, but the JI leadership said the DPC would not scale down its drive.

Talking to newsmen after meeting Jamaat-i-Islami chief Syed Munawar Hasan at Mansoora, the minister said although starting a long, medium or short march was a right of the opposition parties to hold protests, the DPC might not get the chance to do this.

He said whatever the government decided about the fate of Nato supplies it would be according to the guidelines of given by parliament.

“We will not take any decision against aspirations of the nation. But at the same time we will have to see that these supplies are not for the United States alone because they are for many other countries, including some Muslim countries, who are members of Nato. We have to take a decision by keeping in view our country’s economic situation in future,” he explained.

Mr Malik said he had brought a message of love and goodwill for the Jamaat-i-Islami from President Asif Ali Zardari who had invited the JI leader to the presidency to discuss various national issues, including Nato supplies.