The schedule for Pakistan Tehree-e-Insaf (PTI)’s “Haqeeqi Azadi March” to enter the most sensitive areas of Rawalpindi has been finalised according to which the participants of the long march will enter the garrison city from T-Chowk Rawat instead of the Islamabad Expressway under the leadership of party chairman Imran Khan.
The participants of the long march will enter from Rawat to GT Road, Swan Camp, Jhelum District Kachheri Road and from District Kachheri Chowk to Murrir Hasan. They will enter Murree Road from Punjab House, Murrir Chowk and will settle at Murree Road for one day.
On the second day of the march, the participants will enter the federal capital from Murree Road, Faizabad immediately after breakfast. Meanwhile, the participants of the long march from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will enter from Islamabad Toll Plaza and the participants from Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan will enter the federal capital at the same time from Bhara Kahu.
The Punjab government's spokesperson, Fayyazul Hasan Chauhan, confirmed to The Express Tribune that the reception camps have started to be set up on Murree Road to welcome the participants of the long march.
Camps will be held by each union council at Murree Road, Murrir Chowk, Liaquat Bagh, Committee Chowk, Waris Khan, Kohati Bazar, Asghar Mall Chowk, Chandni Chowk and Rahmanabad Chowk. There will be a reception camp for lawyers in District Kachheri Chowk, while on the other hand, all private schools on all main roads of Rawalpindi, including Murree Road, and GT Road, will have holidays from Tuesday to November 6.
Major private schools have started vacations. When contacted, sources from the education department said that due to the long march, the final decision regarding holidays in the government schools will be taken on October 31. GT Road Government Schools will remain closed from Tuesday.
Read Govt expands Islamabad's Red Zone amid PTI long march 'threat'
Divisional President of All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association Abrar Ahmad Khan, President of All Pakistan Private Schools Colleges Association Irfan Muzaffar Kayani and Central President Raja Ilyas said that school holidays are compulsory to protect the lives of the students.
Long marches and strikes have paralysed the education system. The teaching and learning system has been paralysed for the last four years from 2019 to 2022. When the situation improved after the Covid-19 and dengue outbreaks, the long march held the education system hostage.
On the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi, the security of all sensitive places, sensitive roads and routes in Rawalpindi has been tightened.
In these areas, the personnel police, and law enforcement agencies have been assigned duties in shifts while the bomb disposal squad has also been deployed. All the business organisations, especially the leaders of the Main Roads business organisations, have called their meetings to support, oppose or remain completely neutral about the long march.
Meanwhile, the food and catering business in Rawalpindi has witnessed a boom ahead of the arrival of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf long march participants as the local leadership has placed bulk orders for rice, korma and naan to welcome party workers.
The PTI’s local leadership has placed orders for halwa puri, naan, chana etc for breakfast and biryani, murgh pulau and chana-rice for lunch and dinner as the long march participants are expected to stay in Rawalpindi before leaving for Islamabad with other rallies which will join them on different intersections leading to the federal capital.
Hotel owners and caterers said that they will make the orders ready as the long march participants approach the garrison city.
After these food orders, rice, gram, meat and chicken shops across the city have also received bulk orders in advance.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2022.
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