LAHORE, July 8: The Difa-i-Pakistan Council finally launched from Lahore its ‘long march’ on Islamabad on Sunday in protest against reopening of Nato supply routes.

The DPC had earlier announced that the march would take off from Karachi on May 27 after the government started moving towards reopening the supply routes under increasing US pressure. The council postponed the march after the government kept quiet for some time on the issue.

A large number of activists of parties in the DPC, a majority of them from Jamaatud Dawa and Jamaat-i-Islami, gathered at Masjid-i-Shuhada at Regal Chowk and moved towards Nasir Bagh after their leaders, including JuD chief Hafiz Muhamad Saeed, JI Amir Syed Munawar Hasan, DPC’s chairman Maulana Samiul Haq, Gen (retd) Hameed Gul, Sheikh Rashid and others arrived there.

The activists taking part in the march reached Nasir Bagh on cars, jeeps, trucks and buses as slogans were raised against the government and its decision to reopen the supply routes.

The leaders who were on a specially renovated truck said the rulers should see the unity of the nation against US slavery and the reopening of Nato routes.

Addressing the participants at Shahdra, they warned that if the rulers did not reverse their decision they would have to face the people’s wrath.

“Look at the DPC long march. It gives you a message that the nation is not ready to accept your decision of opening the Nato routes,” Hafiz Saeed said.

He said it was because of DPC’s pressure that Nato supplies had remained suspended for eight months. He said the objective of the DPC was to create awareness among the people that the rulers were acting like slaves of the US and following its dictates. He said the nation would never forget the soldiers who were killed during Nato air strikes on Salala post and the DPC would continue its struggle against pro-US polices.

Maulana Sami said the DPC had no political agenda and defence of the country was the duty of every citizen. He criticised the government for following pro-US policies devised by military dictator Pervez Musharraf.

“If the government doesn’t withdraw its decision to reopen Nato supply routes, the DPC will take out a series of long marches and hold sit-ins from Quetta to Chaman, Karachi to Hyderabad, Multan to Dera Ghazi Khan, Sargodha to Mianwali, Peshawar to Darra Khyber, Rawalpindi to Talagang, Faisalabad to Sargodha and Khushab to Islamabad,” the DPC chief warned.

Syed Munawar Hasan said the government should dissociate itself from the so-called war on terror imposed by the US. He alleged that the United States and India were conspiring against the country’s nuclear assets. He said the rulers had insulted parliament’s resolutions about drone attacks and Nato supply routes.

DPC liaison committee convener Hameed Gul said drone attacks were continuing despite the reopening of Nato routes. He said the US wanted to destabilise Pakistan by strengthening India in the region.

Sheikh Rasheed said that people would also have to hold massive protests against the electricity crisis as they had come out against reopening of Nato routes.

Besides police, hundreds of JuD activists were deputed for security on the occasion.

Participants in the march were welcomed by supporters in Kamoki, Emanabad, Chan da Qila bypass, Gujranwala, Wazirabad and other towns.

They stopped for some time in Muridke where DPC leaders delivered speeches.