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2014 Tsunami March
The 2014 Tsunami March (Urdu: سونامی مارچ, romanized: Sunāmī Mārch), also called the Azadi movement, was a protest march in Pakistan from 14 August to 17 December 2014. The march was organized by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) against the Pakistani government of Nawaz Sharif. PTI claimed systematic election-rigging in the 2013 general election, and PAT demanded justice for the culprits in the 2014 Lahore clash. Then PTI chairman Imran Khan had announced plans for an August march from Lahore to Islamabad with a group of protesters in a PTI jalsa (demonstration) in Bahawalpur on 27 June 2014. On 17 December, a day after the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, Khan called off the protest.
Following allegations of massive vote-rigging in the 2013 general election, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tentatively accepted the election results and demanded a probe of election fraud in four constituencies as a litmus test for the rest of the election. Government inaction led the PTI to organize several jalsas throughout Punjab, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's political stronghold.
In August 2014, Khan said that for 14 months the PTI had tried to bring those responsible for the fraud to justice by legal means. Although the party produced a 2,100-page white paper with evidence of vote-rigging, no action was taken by the government. According to Khan, in any democracy its supreme court would have nullified the results and called for a new election. After former Election Commission of Pakistan additional secretary Afzal Khan also alleged fraud, the Supreme Court also took no action. The court required evidence to nullify the election and, without proof beyond Afzal Khan's allegations (which were eventually ruled incorrect), the petition was dismissed.
During the jalsas, Khan expressed disappointment at the lack of initiative by the country's judicial system and the treatment by the election commission of his charges. On 22 April 2014, the PTI announced the start of their anti-corruption movement.
Khan had initially named his planned protest march the "Tsunami march", but he later changed its name to "Azadi march" (or "Freedom march") because its start date—14 August—coincided with Pakistan's 67th Independence Day. The PTI chairman called the march the final phase and defining moment of his party's protest of electoral rigging of the 2013 elections. He announced his plan to march with a million other protesters to the nation's capital in Islamabad to protest prime minister Nawaz Sharif's illegitimate government, prompting analysts to call the protest the "Million March". Khan assured the government that the march, culminating in a sit-in, would be peaceful.
After Khan announced his plans, Islamic cleric Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri's Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) party also announced a similar march. The PAT named their march "Inqilab march" to avoid confusion with the PTI protest, and it was speculated that the marches might merge. Although Qadri initially refused to join Khan's protest and considered changing the date and venue of his march, he later announced that his march would proceed on the same day. The announcement of the informal alliance and parallel marches increased pressure on the PML-N government to restrict the parties.
The protest caravan, numbering thousands, marched towards Islamabad along the Grand Trunk Road. Although Khan had warned the federal and Punjab governments to ensure the safety of the cavalcade, when PML-N workers threw stones at the caravan in Gujranwala and guns were allegedly fired PTI leaders expressed concern that PML-N workers were aided by the Punjab police.
The march began at Zaman Park in Lahore on 14 August 2014, reaching Aabpara Chowk and D-Chowk in Islamabad. The protests quickly turned violent quickly, and Khan and Tahir-ul-Qadri marched towards Parliament House and local news-channel offices late on 30 August. Geo alleged that the prostesters attacked their media outlet. It became apparent that the government used excessive force against the media, especially ARY News, Samaa TV, Express News, and Dunya News (known to be sympathetic to the opposition). Clashes led to violence by law-enforcement authorities. Violent clashes erupted in other cities, with as many as 13 protesters dead at the hands of police and several police officers injured.
2014 Tsunami March
The 2014 Tsunami March (Urdu: سونامی مارچ, romanized: Sunāmī Mārch), also called the Azadi movement, was a protest march in Pakistan from 14 August to 17 December 2014. The march was organized by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) against the Pakistani government of Nawaz Sharif. PTI claimed systematic election-rigging in the 2013 general election, and PAT demanded justice for the culprits in the 2014 Lahore clash. Then PTI chairman Imran Khan had announced plans for an August march from Lahore to Islamabad with a group of protesters in a PTI jalsa (demonstration) in Bahawalpur on 27 June 2014. On 17 December, a day after the 2014 Peshawar school massacre, Khan called off the protest.
Following allegations of massive vote-rigging in the 2013 general election, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tentatively accepted the election results and demanded a probe of election fraud in four constituencies as a litmus test for the rest of the election. Government inaction led the PTI to organize several jalsas throughout Punjab, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's political stronghold.
In August 2014, Khan said that for 14 months the PTI had tried to bring those responsible for the fraud to justice by legal means. Although the party produced a 2,100-page white paper with evidence of vote-rigging, no action was taken by the government. According to Khan, in any democracy its supreme court would have nullified the results and called for a new election. After former Election Commission of Pakistan additional secretary Afzal Khan also alleged fraud, the Supreme Court also took no action. The court required evidence to nullify the election and, without proof beyond Afzal Khan's allegations (which were eventually ruled incorrect), the petition was dismissed.
During the jalsas, Khan expressed disappointment at the lack of initiative by the country's judicial system and the treatment by the election commission of his charges. On 22 April 2014, the PTI announced the start of their anti-corruption movement.
Khan had initially named his planned protest march the "Tsunami march", but he later changed its name to "Azadi march" (or "Freedom march") because its start date—14 August—coincided with Pakistan's 67th Independence Day. The PTI chairman called the march the final phase and defining moment of his party's protest of electoral rigging of the 2013 elections. He announced his plan to march with a million other protesters to the nation's capital in Islamabad to protest prime minister Nawaz Sharif's illegitimate government, prompting analysts to call the protest the "Million March". Khan assured the government that the march, culminating in a sit-in, would be peaceful.
After Khan announced his plans, Islamic cleric Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri's Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) party also announced a similar march. The PAT named their march "Inqilab march" to avoid confusion with the PTI protest, and it was speculated that the marches might merge. Although Qadri initially refused to join Khan's protest and considered changing the date and venue of his march, he later announced that his march would proceed on the same day. The announcement of the informal alliance and parallel marches increased pressure on the PML-N government to restrict the parties.
The protest caravan, numbering thousands, marched towards Islamabad along the Grand Trunk Road. Although Khan had warned the federal and Punjab governments to ensure the safety of the cavalcade, when PML-N workers threw stones at the caravan in Gujranwala and guns were allegedly fired PTI leaders expressed concern that PML-N workers were aided by the Punjab police.
The march began at Zaman Park in Lahore on 14 August 2014, reaching Aabpara Chowk and D-Chowk in Islamabad. The protests quickly turned violent quickly, and Khan and Tahir-ul-Qadri marched towards Parliament House and local news-channel offices late on 30 August. Geo alleged that the prostesters attacked their media outlet. It became apparent that the government used excessive force against the media, especially ARY News, Samaa TV, Express News, and Dunya News (known to be sympathetic to the opposition). Clashes led to violence by law-enforcement authorities. Violent clashes erupted in other cities, with as many as 13 protesters dead at the hands of police and several police officers injured.