Party members and supporters, led by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, began marching toward the federal capital on Sunday from the Quaid-i-Azam’s tomb with the promise that this long march would show that Imran Khan’s administration had lost the faith of Pakistanis.
بدین کی عوام نے بڑی تعداد میں چئیرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری کا استقبال کرکے کٹھ پتلی سرکار اور بدین کے سیاسی یتیموں، دونوں ہی کو مسترد کردیا۔@BBhuttoZardari #AwamiMarch pic.twitter.com/Wgk16qtjP1
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) February 27, 2022
عوامی مارچ حیدرآباد کے بعد ہالا، نواب شاہ سے ہوتا ہوا اپنے دوسرے دن کا اختتام مورو میں کرے گا
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) February 28, 2022
Thousands of Sindh’s ruling party members, many of them women and children, showed up for what they called a “final push” against the “weakened and unjust” government in Islamabad. The PPP chair made a 38-point charter of demands and called for a nationwide and united movement of all opposition parties to bring down the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) rule.
More than a thousand people joined the caravan in Sujawal, where it rested for the first time after travelling for over eight hours, before continuing on to Matli, where they slept for the night.
It was evident that Mr Bhutto-Zardari is convinced that the anti-inflation campaign of the opposition parties would succeed and he called for a “no-trust action” in the parliament to bring about the end of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government.
As the long march left the Mazar-i-Quaid, PPP Chairman Asif Ali Zardari declared, “You [the people of Pakistan] have proclaimed a war, and let me tell you that Islamabad is scared.”
As per PPP, it is only the beginning of the backlash against Niazi and his regime.” As per Zardari, “Throughout the following ten days, people around the country would send Imran Khan messages of support and countdowns to the conclusion of his term. It’s a start. In the end, it’s only the beginning. The dawn of a new age has arrived. Over the last three years, their aspirations and ambitions were ripped away in the guise of “change,” and the people are beginning to realise this”.
عوامی مارچ کراچی سے ہوتے ہوئے سجاول پہنچ گیا۔ ہر شہری کا بس ایک ہی نعرہ ہے، گو سلیکٹڈ گو!@BBhuttoZardari#AwamiMarch
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) February 27, 2022
1/2 pic.twitter.com/K74BspGEGq
Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, the PPP chairman’s younger sister, prayed for him before saying goodbye as he prepared to go on a 10-day long March from Karachi to Islamabad. Shared on social media, this footage reminded many people of their mother and former PM Benazir Bhutto’s convoy that was destroyed in 2007.
پاکستان پیپلزپارٹی کے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری عوامی مارچ میں شرکت کے لئے روانہ
— PPP (@MediaCellPPP) February 27, 2022
شہید بے نظیر بھٹو کی صاحبزادی بی بی آصفہ بھٹو زرداری نے چیئرمین بلاول بھٹو زرداری کے امام ضامن باندھا@BBhuttoZardari @AseefaBZ #AwamiMarch pic.twitter.com/dSCyCLXcFh
While thousands of employees waited nervously for their leader to arrive at the port city of Mazar-i-Quaid at around 1pm on Monday, Mr Bhutto-Zardari arrived and gave a short address before leading a convoy through Sharea Faisal to leave by the end of the day.
#AwamiMarch @BBhuttoZardari @AseefaBZ pic.twitter.com/QYm6F71dRD
— PPP Punjab (@PPPPunjab_SM) February 27, 2022
The previous five years have been devastating for Pakistan, the head of the PPP stated. Many people have lost their jobs; farmers have not received their fair share of the harvest; companies have shut down; and minorities have been targeted. Pakistani society’s foundation is being shaped by these factors right now. This government’s goal is to sow discord, hatred, and chaos. The PPP has long aimed to reconcile the party’s many factions. In order to put a stop to the criminal regime’s rule of misrule and injustice, the opposition must band together, he declared.
A 38-point charter of demands, released by the party earlier this year, called for social development programmes, electoral reforms, an effective justice system, a sustainable economic policy, and an aggressive international relations strategy aimed at re-establishing Pakistan’s ties with other countries rather than further isolating it.
As the PPP chairman put it, the PTI administration was attempting to choke political sanity in Pakistan before passing a black law to restrict the media and the right to free speech. As the Pakistan Electronic Crime Amendment Ordinance (PECAO) was enacted, “it reflects the senses this administration is losing,” he remarked.
He claimed it is absurd for the illegitimate, inept administration to oppress the Pakistani nation, and this regime will be overthrown like fascist regimes of the past and will be condemned to the history books. This dictatorship must be overthrown, and the time for doing so is now.
Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) remarked that the people of Pakistan have overcome dictatorship and fascism in the past and would do it again.
Mr Bhutto-Zardari added, “[Since] the situation is profound, our reaction needs to be forceful and immediate. When it’s all said and done, this is it. We’ll march the length of the nation to show that the people of Pakistan have lost all faith in this administration and that there is no moral, legal, or political justification for it to continue in power any longer. More poverty, injustice, brutality, and tyranny will be brought about as long as this unconstitutional and immoral administration remains in power. The people of Pakistan and the PPP do not want to pay this price.”
Works at The Truth International Magazine. My area of interest includes international relations, peace & conflict studies, qualitative & quantitative research in social sciences, and world politics. Reach@ aimen.bukhari@tti.org.pk
