APC on anti-govt Azadi March after Sept 30

Decision comes during a meeting between Shehbaz and Fazl in Lahore

LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) have agreed to immediately convene the all parties conference (APC) to finalise the arrangements and fix a date for the anti-government Azadi March after the former’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) meeting on September 30.

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman agreed during a meeting at Shehbaz’s residence on Sunday that no time would be wasted in convening the APC after the CEC meeting.

Both the leaders accompanied by their workers discussed plans of putting Islamabad under lockdown and the overall political situation of the country.

They agreed that the government had failed on all fronts and must come under the radar of accountability.



Over the rise in dengue cases in Punjab, Fazl expressed deep concern and recalled the efforts of Shehbaz in curbing the disease during his tenure as the province’s chief minister.

Talking to media-persons after the meeting, Fazl said his party would not give Prime Minister Imran Khan a National Reconciliation Ordinance-type deal.

“The Islamabad march will be peaceful and its date will be announced in a couple of days. We do not want any sort of confrontation with anyone,” said Fazl, adding that all opposition parties would follow the joint declaration agreed upon during the recent meetings.

“The JUI-F already organised a 15 million march and has the strength to run a million march alone,” he added.

He said the focus of the Azadi march was the protection of the sanctity of the Prophethood and against the influence of foreign powers.

He claimed that the government promised to provide 10 million jobs, but instead 1.5 million people were rendered jobless.



“Corrupt governments come to power again and again and sell the country, but now this will not be ignored,” said Fazl. “The government is crying after Kashmir has been sold. They are like those killers who cry and weep over dead bodies of the people they just killed.

“The one-year performance of the incumbent government has proven that it not only came to power through fraudulent means but is also incompetent and needs to be removed. It did not come to power through votes, it has been brought.”

He said as soon as they came to power, they passed negative comments about seminaries. “They acquitted a disrespectful lady [Aasia Bibi], who had committed blasphemy. I want to ask the rulers of the state … if she was innocent, why you didn’t provide protection to her. Why you sent her abroad and assigned her security to other countries?”

He said the JUI-F had decided to take out a million march when the government had released her. “This decision of the government is not in accordance with the law and the Constitution. It was made under pressure from foreign powers. The Constitution and parliament support a struggle for the respect of the Holy Prophet. This is a struggle for an ideology which has been continuing for the last 1,400 years. We have to fight for our traditions set forth by our ancestors.”



Accusing the government of coming to power through unfair means, Fazl said that they would take to the streets to tell what the people actually wanted.

“We want to tell the US and Europe that we know how to protect the respect of the Holy Prophet. We want to organise the million march for this very purpose,” said Fazl. “I never accepted slavery and will not accept it now.”

He said Iran had some reservations about Pakistan and “our fake prime minister confessed in front of their establishment that terrorism is being orchestrated from our land”.

Fazl questioned the credibility of the PM, saying “is he our PM?”

“The previous governments are being blamed for taking hefty loans, but this government has taken more loans than the total loans taken by all the previous governments.”

The PML-N has already invited the JUI-F delegation to its CEC meeting to present its plan regarding the Azadi March. The PML-N had already given its consent to the JUI-F that it would participate in the march.