TANK / DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Oct 6: The Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf’s anti-drone march reached Hathala, a small town on the Dera Ismail Khan-Tank road, and the marchers plan to leave for Kotkai, South Waziristan, on Sunday morning after an overnight stay.

The participants decided to spend the night in Gomal Zam Dam Colony in Hathala, 25km from Dera Ismail Khan.

A large number of hotels and restaurants have been booked in Dera Ismail Khan to accommodate the participants.

Tank district’s PTI chief Ayoub Bittini told Dawn that the administration was pressing his party to terminate the march at Manjhikhel. The administration has already placed containers there to block the marchers.

“We will stage a peaceful sit-in there if we are stopped form going ahead to South Waziristan,” he said.

The 300-vehicle ‘peace caravan’ consists of about 3,000 people.

According to sources, a rally may be held in Manjhikhel, an open area, and the caravan is not likely to be allowed to proceed forward from there.

The Tank administration was tight-lipped about the line of action to be adopted when the marchers would leave Hathala for Kotkai.

The march started from Islamabad and reached Dera Ismail Khan via Mianwali. Several small processions from parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa merged into the march in Dera Ismail Khan. The motorcade led by Imran Khan was given a warm welcome at Chashma.

Addressing people on the occasion, the PTI chief said the peace march was aimed at expressing solidarity with the tribal people who were suffering because of drone attacks and military operation.

He said the march would prompt the international community to raise voice against US atrocities.

Mr Khan said the government was creating hurdles in the way of the peace march and there was no threat of attacks from Taliban groups.

He said President Asif Zardari and his allies would be held responsible in case of any untoward incident because they were bent upon sabotaging the march.

Mr Khan criticised JUI chief Fazlur Rehman and said the maulana had earlier declared him as pro-Taliban and now described him as westernised and a supporter of Jews. He said the cleric wanted to defame the peace march for his vested interests.

Replying to a question, he said the caravan would halt where it was stopped but he hoped that it would reach its destination in South Waziristan.

He said the people of Waziristan had rendered sacrifices for Pakistan and the PTI had decided to express solidarity with them.

The Tank administration placed containers on the road near the Manjhikhel checkpoint and deployed police to stop the marchers from entering the gateway to the South Waziristan tribal region. Both sides of the road were dug by an excavator so that the vehicles may not bypass the blockade.

The South Waziristan administration also placed containers on the Tank-Waziristan road at Kor Qilla. Heavy contingents of police were deployed at the entry points of Tank to check the marchers.

District Police Officer Faridullah Katikhel told reporters that arrangements had been made and a security plan chalked out for the caravan and over 2,000 police personnel had been moved to Tank from other districts.

He said the road had been blocked to stop foreign media persons from entering the tribal area and the move was not aimed at stopping the procession.

PTI workers and leaders in Tank and Dera Ismail Khan have decorated buildings and markets along the whole route of the march with party banners and posters and slogans against drone attacks have been written on the walls.

Rickshaws, motorcycles and cars carried colourful party flags and posters.

WARNING: Earlier in the day, a pamphlet was issued by Jarar, an offshoot of the Tehrik-i-Taliban, Punjab, warning people to keep away from the march and saying that, otherwise, they would themselves will be responsible for the consequences. The group alleged that American and British agents were participating in the march.

Aamir Yasin adds from Islamabad: The march led by Imran Khan and other PTI leaders started from Kashmir Highway in the federal capital amid slogans against drone attacks and made stopovers at Islamabad interchange, Balkasar, Tala Danda Bilawal Shah, Musa Khel and Mianwali.About 50 vehicles left Islamabad but the number swelled along the route. The caravan was joined by several processions from Peshawar and Lahore on the motorway. A group of party workers was assigned the responsibility of ensuring the security of the PTI chief.

Mr Khan did not stop at any place for more than two or three minutes.

“He wanted to reach D.I. Khan before sunset so he was in a hurry to arrive there in time,” one of the organisers said.

The march received a warm reception in Talagang and Mianwali and smaller processions merged into it.

Imran Khan also addressed public gatherings in Talagang and Musa Khel.