The final date for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march has not been announced yet by Chairman Imran Khan, however, contradictory statements have been issued by the Punjab government regarding the province’s support.
Punjab Home Minister Hashim Dogar said on Wednesday that during the PTI long march, government resources will not be used and called Khan’s long march a “political matter”.
In a tweet, he said, “Long march is our constitutional and legal right. When Imran Khan orders, we will come out as a party. This is a political matter, we have never used government resources and will not.”
In another instance, Dogar, while talking to journalists on Wednesday said, “If Imran Khan announces a long march then the Punjab government will not become part of it. We will not facilitate the participants of the long march but security will be provided”, reports Geo News.
On the contrary, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi— who is currently in London— said, “We will do everything that Imran Khan wants us to do”.
Speaking to journalists, he said, “There is a PTI government in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir”, adding that Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah wouldn’t be able to bear the PTI long march.
Reacting to Dogar’s statement, Elahi said, “That is, as such, no matter”.
The statement from the Punjab home minister and CM came after Khan directed his party’s officeholders to ensure that thousands of workers gather in Islamabad during the “Azadi March”.
Earlier, Sanaullah said that PTI’s long march would not be allowed to enter the federal capital under any circumstances.
On October 4, Khan asked his party leaders and workers to take an oath that they would participate in the long march, terming it a “jihad” for the country.
