Punjab govt will not become part of Imran Khan’s long march: Hashim Dogar

• Dogar says Punjab govt will only provide security to march participants.
• Says provincial govt will not use state machinery for march.
• Statement came after Imran Khan asked workers to prepare for long march.

Punjab Home Minister Hashim Dogar on Wednesday said that the provincial government will not become a part of Imran Khan's long march as it is a political issue, Geo News reported.

“If Imran Khan announces a long march then the Punjab government will not become part of it. We will not facilitate the participants of the long march but security will be provided," said the minister while talking to a journalist in Lahore.

The statement from the Punjab home minister came after PTI Chairman Imran Khan directed his party's office holders to ensure that thousands of the workers gather in Islamabad during the "Azadi March".

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.

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.

Punjab's home minister called Imran Khan's long march a "political issue", adding that the provincial government will not use state machinery for this.

Interestingly, The ruling coalition at the centre has also asked the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments to abstain from becoming a "tool" in paving the way for chaos in the country.

Responding on the issue of alleged violence against PTI leader Shahbaz Gill during police custody, Dogar said: “I still stand by my point that he was not subjected to torture. The matter is in court let’s see what happens.”