LAHORE: Federal Minister of Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique on Sunday urged Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan to change the date of his scheduled long march in Islamabad on August 14.

At a press conference earlier today, Saad Rafique said, "The tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to 66 years. It is not a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) event but a national event for Pakistan and it cannot be changed."

Also read: PTI sees no chance of long march cancellation

He added that Imran should not turn the celebration into a day of agitation and urged him and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri to be careful of “rabble-rousers” such as Pervez Illahi and “gossip-mongers” such as Sheikh Rashid.

Rafique appealed to political parties to shun the tradition of waving their party flags during the August 14 celebrations this year. "In every part of Pakistan, there should not be colourful party flags but the green crescent flag of Pakistan to present a united front as a nation."

Rafique condemned the Model Town incident and added that Qadri should not have made provocative speeches from Canada, which inflamed his supporters and resulted in a tragedy.

In response to a reporter who pointed out that the PPP had allowed a similar march during their government, he said, "Independence day celebrations have been celebrated before Imran Khan was born."

Earlier, Khan had announced to launch a million man long march on Islamabad on August 14 if the government failed to accept within a month his demands relating to fairness of elections.