- ANP calls it a conspiracy, insists on recording the protest on Thursday
- Marriyum Aurangzeb announced that PML-N to participate in Jalsa on Friday
- Fazl announced that it was JUI-F’s event and it would decide to go ahead with the jalsa or defer it till Friday
ISLAMABAD, October 31: Maulana Fazlur Rehman and his political party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), marched towards Islamabad on Thursday to challenge the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Dubbed the ‘Azadi’ March, the caravan, which set off from the Sindh province, left Punjab’s city Lahore last night and culminated its journey on Thursday in Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad.
Conflicting statements from opposition politicians about the Islamabad jalsa have created confusion about its timing as the PML-N
said on Thursday that the event had been deferred until Friday due to the train tragedy in Rahim Yar Khan, while ANP insisted on ‘recording their protest’ on Thursday. The Maulana Fazlur Rehman-led ‘Azadi march’, which started its marathon journey from Karachi on October 27, was supposed to morph into a sit-in in the federal capital today (Oct 31) where workers of other opposition parties were to join it. However, senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said on Thursday that due to the train tragedy the demonstration would be held on November 1 after Friday prayers. He called on PML-N workers to stay in Islamabad till tomorrow and fully participate in the jalsa. His party colleague Marriyum Aurangzeb also confirmed the deferment. The announcement didn’t go down well with the Awami National Party of Asfandyar Wali. ANP workers travelling in buses and cars and on motorcycles are en route to Islamabad from different parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). – Agencies
