Adnan Ali Participates in Long March 2009
Adnan Ali with friends at Long March 2009
It is true. I, Adnan Ali, took to the streets of Lahore along with thousands of Lahorites and activists, lawyers and civil society members from all over Sindh and Baluchistan.
I had always supported the call for restoration of free judiciary and had protested against the emergency imposed by General Musharraf. But this time, it was something different. When Mian Nawaz Sharif broke his house arrest, my brother and I were compelled by our conscious to go out, break the stranglehold of section 144 and join the revolution.
My father called me to say “Adnan Ali, could you not stay home?”. I had to reply “I have to follow my conscious”.
I saw scenes never before experienced by myself. People poured in from all directions and the authorities seemed to melt away. We walked, chanted and felt a sense of unity that emboldened the heart and strengthened the hope of victory of the people.
As I said good bye to the convoy as it left the boundaries of Lahore city, I felt in myself great pride. I also realized that the civil society is also a stakeholder in the system and has to play an active role in the continuous evolution of Pakistan.
Long live Pakistan.
