‘Azadi March’

Whatever you call it – a march or a sit-in – the event has turned out to be quite a big show of street power

The ‘Azadi March’ is on the go – formally declared open by Maulana Fazlur Rehman after the Friday prayers. The JUI-F is in the lead, with the ANP also exhibiting sizeable presence. Support from the PML-N and the PPP is limited, but their eminent leaders have showed up at the event and made fiery speeches targeting the incumbents and their policies. Whatever you call it – a rally, a march or a sit-in – the fact is that the event has turned out to be quite a big show of street power. The protest venue, spread over one hundred acres in the heart of the federal capital, is brimful of a charged crowd hailing from various parts of the country. With kitchens and lavatories readied, the protesters appear in no hurry, having camped out in the arena along with their belongings and necessary supplies in a zealous attempt to pressure Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign.

So, all the signs are there that the crowd is not going to disperse anytime soon. They are here to stay, but for how long, can’t be said with certainty right now. The size of the crowd, as well as its liveliness, was enough to drive Fazl, the spearhead, into adopting an unusually harsh tone as he made his first formal address to the ‘Azadi March’ participants in the evening yesterday. While other opposition leaders, like Shehbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, were customarily critical of the government, the Maulana went to the extent of asking the state institutions to be impartial and withdraw support from the PTI-led government. He gave the incumbents two days – i.e. till Monday – to tender their resignations, calling them the product of a rigged election.

So far so good, from the Maulana’s point of view. But what next is the key question. What will it be like on Monday? To what extent are the pumped-up protesters ready to go for getting their demands accepted? And to what extent will the authorities go for tackling the protesters in case they violate the terms of an agreement whereby they are bound to stay peaceful? Well, there can be yet another deadline on Monday.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2019.

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