Million-man march: Altaf asks people to donate warm clothes for participants

Altaf asks people to donate blankets, warm clothes, woolen caps, umbrellas and raincoats for the participants.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain appealed to the people and philanthropists to donate clothes that would protect participants of the million-man long march from the cold and rain, a statement issued by the party said on Tuesday.

Altaf said that during the long march, the temperature is forecasted to drop to 0 or even -1 degrees Celsius and requested the people to hand over blankets, warm clothes, woolen caps, umbrellas and raincoats at MQM’s headquarter Nine Zero or at offices of the party’s charity wing Khidmat-e-Khalq Foundation.

The MQM and Minhajul Quran International (MQI) had decided to join forces and agreed to hold the million-man march on January 14 jointly to press for a neutral caretaker set-up and free, fair and transparent elections.

On the interior ministry’s directives, red zones including key government offices and diplomatic missions in the city were being sealed through containers and with barbed wire.

Furthermore, every individual entering Islamabad for the protest would need valid identification, while hired buses would have to possess valid documents, an official handout released by the interior ministry said.