Thousands of Pakistanis commenced their march towards Islamabad on Thursday morning from Gujar Khan, 57 km from the country’s capital city, as part of a protest launched against the current government.
The protesters have been demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan as they accuse his political outfit Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf of winning in a rigged parliamentary election.
لاکھوں لوگوں کا پر امن مارچ کامیابی کیساتھ جاری ہے پشتونخوا ملی عوامی پارٹی کے کارکنان بڑی تعداد میں شریک ہے.#آزادی_مارچ #آزادی_مارچ_سویلین_راج #ChalloAzadiMarchKeSath #AzadiMarch4CivilSupremacy pic.twitter.com/3E5wb5sacd
— پشتونخوا ملی عوامی پارٹی میڈیا سیل (@MediaCellPMAP) October 30, 2019
The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) caravan led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman put out the call for the Azadi March (Freedom March) in June and later on major opposition parties, the Pakistan People's Party and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), extended their hand to the march.
اے این پی کا قافلہ بھی #آزادی_مارچ میں بھرپور حصہ لینے کیلئے اسلام آباد کی جانب رواں دواں #Azadi_March_Updates pic.twitter.com/79a0BZ5Vlz
— Aniha Anam Chaudhary (@anihachaudhry) October 31, 2019
Nevertheless, Maulana Fazlur Rehman has yet to disclose his future plans about whether he will opt for a sit-in for a specified or indefinite time. The expected convergence of JUI-F supporters in Islamabad is hoped to be one of the biggest public gatherings in Islamabad since the 2014 Imran Khan rally.
Last week, Prime Minister Khan accused the organiser of the "Azadi March" of blackmailing him under the guise of hiding corrupt leaders.
"As long as I am alive, whatever the opposition wants to do, whether they blackmail me using Azadi March (freedom march), or any other means, I promise to the nation that corrupt leaders will not receive NRO from me", Khan said while addressing a public rally in Nankana Sahib on Monday.
Meanwhile, people have been complaining of some kind of censorship while uploading videos on social media.
Anyone else facing issue with uploading videos on Twitter ? Hope it’s not due to Azadi March.
— Gharidah Farooqi (@GFarooqi) October 31, 2019
AZADI March at AZADI Chauk in Kahore being blacked out by a censored media pic.twitter.com/aqdwGeJfgR
— Imtiaz Alam (@ImtiazAlamSAFMA) October 30, 2019
In July 2018, Imran Khan formed a government after his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf secured victory in 117 out of a total of 272 seats in the National Assembly. It was the third consecutive transfer of power from one civilian government to another in the country’s 71-year history.
