PTI's long march: Heavy contingents of police, FC arrive in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to thwart the PTI’s proposed long march on Islamabad, heavy contingents of the Sindh police and Frontier Corps (FC) have arrived in the federal capital, it emerged Monday night.

Almost 6,000 personnel of the Sindh police and 90 platoons of FC have touched down in the federal capital ahead of the PTI looming long march.

The FC personnel are staying in Faisal Mosque and Haji camp.

Imran Khan to announce long march's date next week

On October 22, PTI Chairman Imran Khan said that he will announce the date for his "Haqeeqi Azadi March" next Thursday or Friday, warning the government against taking steps to stop the march.

The government approached the Supreme Court earlier to stop the PTI's long march. However, the apex court rejected the request to issue an interim order for stopping the PTI’s planned long march — giving a boost to the Khan-led party.

Before it approached the top court, the government issued repeated warnings to the PTI chief, with a top official saying that the authorities would multiply their May 25 policy by 10 if Khan announces another long march.

If the PTI holds another long march, then it would be the second time they would be coming to Islamabad. The last march was held on May 25 and ended with Khan abruptly calling off the march after reaching Islamabad.

In a press conference alongside PTI Senator Azam Swati, Khan played down the reports of his arrest and said that even if he were behind bars, the long march would take place.

Khan said he would announce the date now as he was not hopeful of the government holding snap elections. "This time, the march will be peaceful, and people will enjoy it."

The PTI chief added that he would not allow the government to torture or harass his party leaders and workers like the last time. "This sort of violence does not take place anywhere in the world."