Pervaiz Khattak warns Azadi March participants

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak warned Azadi March participants on Thursday against violating the terms of the agreement between the Islamabad administration and the Rahbar Committee.

Speaking to media, Khattak admitted that the government had taken a risk by permitting the JUI-F to hold its Azadi March.

The JUI-F chief is leading a large number of party workers who are asking Prime Minister Imran to step down and ‘hand over power to the people’.

Read more: Resign and hand power back to the people, says Fazl 

Khattak said that it was the JUI-F who had selected the venue for their Azadi March jalsa.

"The H-9 is their red line," he said.

Khattak said that reports were coming in that some buses were being stopped in Peshawar and Swat. He said that these decisions were not being taken by the federal government.

"In some cities, the administration is taking steps on its own," he said. "However, we hope the Rahbar Committee will not violate the agreement."

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Shafqat Mahmood, another member of the government's delegation that held negotiations with the Rahbar Committee, said that the government had suggested Parade Ground as the venue for the opposition's jalsa.

"However, they insisted on Peshawar Mor," he said. "No one will be allowed to enter the Red Zone."

Maulana Fazlur Rehman and his political party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), is marching to Islamabad to challenge the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Dubbed the ‘Azadi’ March, the caravan, which set off from the Sindh province, left Punjab’s city Lahore last night and will conclude its journey today in Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad.

Earlier, the ruling and the opposition parties reached an agreement to let the anti-government march progress as planned, as long as they protesters do not cross the sensitive “red zone” in Islamabad.

The JUI-F Azadi March caravan reached Gujar Khan on Thursday morning, from where it will make its way to the federal capital.