Pakistan is bracing for yet another march towards Islamabad undertaken by disgruntled former Prime Minister Imran Khan claiming to bring a Haqeeqi Azadi march to the people of the country. He was bent upon agitation right after he was voted out of power in April last and went on a spree of public meetings addressing a remarkable half a century of them in more than six months in most northern parts of the country.
Haqeeqi Azadi march popularity soared as his anti-establishment stance gained widespread public appeal resulting in thumping electoral victories in two series of by-elections in Punjab, KP, and Karachi cementing his ability as a formidable vote-getter outstripping all his rivals.
Encouraged by his success he raised the ante and challenged his political opponents as well as his erstwhile benefactors in the establishment and warned them that he is coming with a people’s tsunami that will flush them out of their safe havens.
He has cleverly chosen Lahore to be the starting point as it is governed by a friendly government and will facilitate his long trek to Islamabad where he expects that large hordes of his supporters from KPK will join him. The march has started and the people will wait with bated breath to see how it progresses and, finally, how it ends. The Weekender