Leaders meet at Imran residence: PTI long march resumes today

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) top leadership met at the Zaman Park residence of party Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday and chalked out a strategy for the second phase of the party’s long march, which would resume from Wazirabad on Thursday (today).

The meeting, chaired by former prime minister Imran Khan, was attended by PTI Senior Vice President Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Fawad Chaudhry, Shafqat Mehmood, Hammad Azhar, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Omar Ayub Khan and others.

Omer Sarfaraz Cheema, Adviser to Chief Minister on Home Affairs, briefed the meeting about the security measures taken by the government for the long march, which would resume from the same point in Wazirabad where Imran Khan came under an attack on Nov 3.

Cheema told the meeting that as per the details provided by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and IGP Punjab to the provincial cabinet, more than one attackers were involved in the assassination attempt on Imran’s life. They said shells of bullets and other material recovered from the attack site were being sent for forensic examination. The container was also being sent for forensic examination, the meeting was told.

The meeting was informed that a three-member Joint Investigation Team (JIT) would be formed by Thursday (today) and details of all investigations carried out so far by the local police would be provided to it. The meeting also decided to continue the long march till the demand of fresh elections was accepted.

The meeting passed a resolution in support of Imran Khan, pressing all elected PTI MNAs and in all the four provinces and MLAs in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, to move the apex court for registration of the first information report (FIR) carrying the names of three nominated persons, responsible for the attack on former premier.

A statement issued at the end of the meeting said the party’s leaders from Faisalabad and other parts of the country would move towards Rawalpindi in groups, while more convoys would reach Rawalpindi in the third week of November.

The statement said the party had only one demand that the elections should be conducted as soon as possible. The party also demanded that all assemblies should be dissolved and way should be paved for immediate elections in all the four provinces.

Also, PTI senior leader and former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Wednesday Tehreek-e-Insaf’s long march would resume from Thursday (today). In a tweet, he said a meeting of officials of Gujranwala and Lahore divisions would discuss details about resumption of the long march. He said Imran Khan would be in Rawalpindi to lead the march in the third week of November.