If you drive from Lahore to Islamabad/Rawalpindi on the Grand Trunk Road, a few kilometers before the twin cities, the town of Rawat welcomes you. The Islamabad Highway, also known as Faisal Avenue, branches off from Grand Trunk Road here and takes you deep into the federal capital without letting you enter the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
GT Road is also known as Jernaili Sarak, the generals’ road, in Urdu, as it passes in front of the Pakistan Army headquarters. This is why, when people arrive at this Y junction, they don’t continue on this road, unless, of course, they mean business in that area. Taking the Islamabad Expressway is always a better option.
It will be at this junction that the PTI’s Haqeeqi Azadi long march will find itself today, at quite literally a turning point. Imran Khan will announce at around 2pm whether he will enter Rawalpindi or head directly to Islamabad, according to party leaders.
The original route issued by the party last month indicated that PTI protesters led by Imran Khan were to storm Rawalpindi and then use Murree Road to turn up at the Faizabad Interchange intersection between Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
The march coincides with the appointment of the next chief of army staff as General Qamar Javed Bajwa, hangs up his uniform on November 29.
The PML-N government has repeatedly claimed that Imran Khan was attempting to influence this key appointment. Khan says he only wants the next COAS to be ‘appointed on merit’ and that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who is living in exile in London, has no right to provide input on such a significant decision.
Khan says he is marching to press for free and fair elections, and not to arm-twist Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over the COAS appointment.
On Friday evening, there were reports that a compromise has been reached; PML-N’s Ishq Dar, the finance minister, met President Arif Alvi, who is from Khan’s PTI, and delivered a key message. A huddle at Prime Minister House discussed the names of a few senior army officers for the top position.
On social media, PTI supporters appeared to praise Lt General Asim Munir, the top-runner for the COAS slot. Previously, Khan was said to be apprehensive of Munir becoming COAS as the general reportedly had a falling-out with Khan in October 2019, when the latter was prime minister. Back then, Khan removed Lt General Munir as the head of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) only eight months after he picked him for the job.
Whether the compromise has been reached or not will become clear when Khan announces which road he is going to take today.
PTI supporters from other cities have been told to gather in Rawalpindi. PTI’s Fawad Chaudhry said in a tweet that this was the ‘final leg’ of the march and PTI activists should be on their toes as Khan announces the ‘call for Rawalpindi.’
However, the fact remains that the Islamabad Expressway saves you trouble and helps you avoid congested Rawalpindi downtown.
