ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Thursday announced that the “Azadi March” will begin on October 27 after staging protest demonstration on to express solidarity with the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir.

The JUI-F chief while addressing a press conference in Islamabad has announced that party will begin its anti-government ‘Azadi March’ on October 27 and will also observe the day as a black day in solidarity with Kashmiris.

“Around 1.5 million people will participate in JUI-F’s Azadi March,” claims Fazal-ur-Rehman, adding that there will be no change in the date of the march.

“We will gather at D-Chowk,” he said and added, “The country is facing economic crisis due to the faulty policies of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.”

Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman further said that JUI-F has invited all opposition parties to participate in the Azadi March. He assured that Azadi March will be peaceful as party doesn’t want confrontation with institutions.

Earlier today, the chairman of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has met Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) supremo Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Islamabad.

The meeting between the opposition leaders continued for more than one hour which was also attended by PPP central leaders including Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, Farhatullah Babar and Naveed Qamar.

Sources said that the opposition leaders failed to reach any agreement for the next strategy of the anti-government movement as Bilawal returned from his residence without interacting with the media.

It must be noted that PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and president of PML-N Shehbaz Sharif have mutually decided to defer the proposed long-march towards Islamabad and have been hesitant to offer outright support to JUI-F.—NNI