Yousafzai vows not to hinder Azadi march

K-P information minister urges parents to check if their children are being used by seminaries as pawns in march

PESHAWAR: As the opposition protesters start to build momentum for the Azadi march, the provincial government on Wednesday said that per directions from Prime Minister Imran Khan, they will not create any hurdles in the march.

This was stated by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai in a video message on Wednesday.

He stated that the government will not block any roads which the opposition parties including the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) and others including the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) will use to rally on towards the federal capital.

Security, traffic plans finalised for Azadi march

He added that the prime minister has expressly directed the provincial government not to impede the movement of opposition parties, rather, they had been directed to facilitate the march.

The provincial information minister added that intelligence agencies have shared knowledge about impending threats to the march with the JUI-F and other parties which are participating in the march and urged them to cooperate with the provincial police force. Further, he said that the police has asked each of the parties to take care during the march and not to let the ‘wrong’ people infiltrate the ranks to create problems during the rally.

“We have not issued any instructions to any religious seminary, but parents should look into the madrassas and check if the precious time of children is not wasted for the vested political interests of some,” the minister said, reiterating that seminary children must not be used for further political gains and anti-government protests.

He added that K-P Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has constituted a high-level committee which has been tasked with monitoring the law and order situation in the province, particularly along the march routes.

“Looking at the situation, the most important thing for us is to keep the protest peaceful and to ensure the safety of participants in the wake of the threat alert,” Yousafzai said, as he went on to urge participants to refrain from keeping any weapons with them or other items which can be used as weapons such as poles or sticks or else they could face problems with law enforcing officials.

“Every citizen has the right to hold a peaceful protest,” the information minister stated, adding that there will be no obstruction that the protesters will face,” he said but warned them that they should not create chaos or take the law into their hands otherwise the JUI-F will be held responsible.

Yousafzai’s comments came a day after the Peshawar High Court (PHC) directed the provincial government not to hinder the movements of the Azadi march participants and also directed the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) to allocate equal airtimes for the opposition and treasury benches.

‘Azadi March participants must abide by law’

During the hearing, Additional Advocate General Shah had told the court that if the Azadi march participants take the law into their hands, the state will react to establish its writ. He added that that baton-wielding workers of JUI-F could be seen on the roads in the Azadi march which will not be tolerated.

PHC Chief Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth said that government has a responsibility to maintain law and order, but it cannot place containers in the path of peaceful marchers.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2019.