JUI-F’s anti-govt long march to start in Karachi on Sunday

The Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) has decided to start its anti-government march from Karachi and the party’s supremo, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, will lead it.

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It was decided in a meeting of the party’s central executive meeting at the Jamia Hamdia seminary in Manzil Gah in the Sukkur district.

Rehman chaired the meeting and participants discussed the preparations for the long march, talks with the government, registration of the cases against party workers, and law enforcement agencies’ harassment of transporters, who were being warned against giving buses to the party.

The meeting decided that Rehman would lead the Azadi March from Karachi on October 27 at 10am.

Participants of the meeting told The News that leaders agreed that the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s provincial governments, which were ruled by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, might create hurdles by arresting the party’s supremo before the march.

In view of this apprehension, the party leadership has decided to start the march in Sindh, where the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party would not create hurdles.

“Sukkur and Karachi are two cities from where the march can be started Most of the party leaders have chosen Karachi to gain maximum attention of the media, civil society and other stakeholders,” said a JUI-F Sindh leader.

Rallies from Balochistan would also join the march in Karachi.

Although the JUI-F has currently no parliamentary presence in Sindh, the party has a strong support base in the province, especially in Karachi and northern districts of the province.

“In the presence of a large number of party workers, it will be difficult for the Punjab government to arrest Maulana Rehman on his entrance in Punjab from Sindh,” the party leader told The News, adding: “If the plan works, the Azadi March will stop in Multan.”

The JUI-F Sindh leadership has also already asked the district leaders of the party to ensure the madrasas situated on the main Sindh-Punjab highway are prepared to host the marchers.