PDM plans to go ahead with 'anti-inflation' march to Islamabad on March 23, Pakistan Day

The opposition coalition in Pakistan will organize an "anti-inflation" long march to Islamabad on March 23 on the occasion of Pakistan Day, despite amped-up security and a session of the Organization of Islamic Organization (OIC), Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has said.

Rehman made the announcement of the march while addressing a press conference here on Tuesday.

The PDM already gave a call for taking out a long march to Islamabad protesting the soaring inflation on March 23, however, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed urged opposition to either prepone or defer the long march by four days and not hold the rally on Pakistan day.

He urged the opposition to reschedule its march as the nation would be celebrating Pakistan Day while foreign guests would also be present in the country for the OIC summit.

However, Rehman, when asked how the PDM would access the federal capital on March 23 owing to heavy security due to a military parade and an OIC session, said, "The PDM will enter. They [the government] knew that we were staging a long march on that date. Under what conspiracy did they make such recommendations?", reported the Dawn.

During the press conference, he lashed out at the Imran Khan government and said, "A ruler who can't fulfill the responsibility of the common man or the economy has no right to remain in power," reported DAWN.

Rehman said that PDM has rejected both the Finance (Supplementary) Bill also known as 'mini-budget' and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill.

Furthermore, he voiced his thoughts after a meeting of the chiefs of the PDM's component parties in Islamabad and slammed PM Imran Khan saying he had been proven a criminal in the foreign funding case and he had hidden around 26 accounts.

He also urged the Election Commission of Pakistan to conduct daily hearings in the case, to disqualify the prime minister, and to ban the PTI.

( With inputs from ANI )

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