Imran Khan directs party to gather thousands in lead up to 'Azadi March'

• PTI Chairman Imran Khan gears up ahead of "Azadi March".
• Khan directs every district to gather 6,000 workers in Islamabad.
• PTI workers should be sent to him within three days, he says.

GUJRANWALA: PTI Chairman Imran Khan Wednesday directed his organisation's office holders to ensure that thousands of the party's workers gather in Islamabad during the "Azadi March".

The PTI chairman — who became the first prime minister to be voted out of office in April — has held a series of protests against the incumbent government and he plans on staging a long march in the near future.

There has been no reconciliation between the PTI and the government so far despite the passage of more than six months as the party continues to demand fresh elections and refuses to return to the National Assembly.

Sources told Geo News that Khan's directions came during a meeting with several district heads of Punjab — including Gujranwala, Narowal, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, and Gujrat.

Khan, while delegating the responsibilities to the district-level officer bearers, said that the list of all PTI workers should be sent to him within two to three days.

The PTI chairman told the local leaders that 6,000 workers should come to the capital from Gujranwala, the same number from Sialkot and Gujrat, 5,000 from Mandi Bahauddin, and 4,000 each from Hafizabad and Narowal.

He also asked the leaders to draft a list of expenses that will be incurred during their stay in Islamabad, while directing them to begin funding for the anti-government march.

"The local leadership will be responsible to bear the expenses of the workers reaching Islamabad," he told the officer bearers.

In a separate meeting with party leader Waseem Ramy, Khan said that he has directed every district to gather 6,000 people for the long march.

"I will decide from where the long march will begin and what will be its timing. I have kept details about the march very close to myself," Khan added.

In his address to leaders and workers in Peshawar on Tuesday, the PTI chairman said he is going to give the call for what he called the long march at any time.

The ousted prime minister said that everyone must take part in the long march, considering it a form of "jihad". However, he didn't give a date for the event. 

Following the development, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman at the PM Office.

In the meeting, both leaders discussed the country's overall political situation, including ways to thwart PTI's long march, sources informed Geo News.