ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri’s ‘long marches’ entered the capital late Friday night, nearly 36 hours after they set off on Thursday from Lahore.
The two leaders, who have threatened to occupy the capital until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif resigns, are set to address growing crowds in Islamabad at 3pm and 4pm, respectively today.
Addressing a rally after arriving in Islamabad in the wee hours of Saturday, Khan said he would stage a sit-in at Aabpara Chowk from 3pm onwards that would continue until Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif leaves office. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief reiterated that Nawaz’s only option is to resign and hold new polls.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Tahirul Qadri, who had separately announced an ‘Inqilab’ march parallel to PTI’s rally, also announced he would present his demands during an address at Aabpara Market on Khayaban-e-Suharwardy at 4pm.
The government, which is facing arguably its toughest challenge since it came into power 15 months ago, has agreed to allow the two groups to hold rallies but the capital’s Red Zone remains blocked off with shipping containers.
You can see our previous coverage on the ‘Azadi’ march and the ‘Inqilab’ march here.
All previous stories relating to Qadri can be found here, and all previous stories related to the Azadi march can be found here.
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Well, let’s see how long Imran Khan will sit in his specially built container …