PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was leading a convoy from Kohat to Mattani, located on the outskirts of Peshawar, as the PTI resumed its protest march to demand the release of jailed party founder and ex-prime minister Imran Khan.
PTI Information Deputy Secretary in KP Ikram Khatana told Dawn that the protesters would spend the night in Mattani.
The march began on Sunday (Oct 4) from Lakki Marwat, and the Afridi-led convoy reached Kohat on Monday night.
The protesters aim to reach Khairabad — which borders Punjab — by Oct 8, where the KP chief minister will announce the next plan of action. And while the plan for the trek beyond Khairabad is yet to be announced, the PTI — which is in the government in KP and in the opposition in the Centre — had previously announced Islamabad as its final destination.
However, the Centre has warned the party against any protest or gatherings in Islamabad. But, PTI decided to embark on the march after weekend talks with the federal government to bridge their differences failed for multiple reasons, particularly over the counterterrorism policy.
Before setting out for Mattani, CM Afridi addressed the PTI supporters at University Chowk in Kohat and criticised the federal government over its counterterrorism policy.
“Your failed policy did not end terrorism. Let me propose a policy under which peace can be established in 100 days,” he said, according to a statement released by his office.
He said he was “not afraid of anyone and neither are the youth of KP”.
“I have shared the draft of my demands on social media”, he continued, referring to a set of proposal he said he had sent to the opposition team negotiating with the government last week. CM Afridi said if any of his demands was unconstitutional or illegal, he would cancel the long march.
The provincial chief executive rued that the PTI had employed all legal and constitutional means for the fulfillment of its demands, including meetings with Imran. But when one was not served justice, the Constitution allowed for peaceful protest, he added.
He said the PTI would protest peacefully.
He maintained that the people wanted a resolution of their issues through the provincial government’s policy, adding that there had been military operations in KP for the past 22 years but terrorism was still prevalent.
“Your failed policy did not end terrorism. Let me propose a policy under which peace can be established in 100 days,” he remarked.
He added that once they would decide to move to Islamabad, nobody would be able to stop them. Referring to the PTI postponing the launch of its march from Sept 27 to Oct 4, he said “they now have problem that this is Test match”.
CM Afridi also said that there were reports that Imran’s health was again deteriorating in jail. He said if “Imran’s health is played with or he suffers any harm”, the jail administration, prime minister and other relevant authorities would be responsible.
March will not be allowed to move beyond Attock: Kundi
Earlier in the day, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi vowed that PTI’s long march would not be allowed to proceed beyond Attock in Punjab — which borders KP — saying the party “did not have the capacity” to do so.
Kundi made the remarks while speaking to Geo News programme ‘Geo Pakistan’.
“They cannot go any further than Attock,” Kundi said, challenging PTI to “try to take a step”.
He contended that the party did not have “enough capacity” to march further.
“They claim to have two million people with them […] show us the people; they don’t have the capacity.”
Kundi said the province was suffering from terrorism and “yet, they [PTI] want to march to Islamabad instead”.
Speaking about his recent meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Peshawar, the governor recalled that the two often held meetings to discuss the security situation, and during last week’s meeting, the two also discussed “dialogue with the PTI as well as the way forward in relation to PTI’s long march”.
Kundi cautioned: “If there is a mishap during the long march — especially if someone from southern KP who wants to reach Islamabad to carry out a plot [is involved] — what screening mechanisms does PTI have in place to prevent that from happening?”
He also assailed the PTI-led KP government for “staying silent” on terrorist incidents.
“When the federal government asks for their support against militancy, they say that the army should leave the province and that we should hold a dialogue with Afghanistan,” Kundi said, accusing the incarcerated PTI founder of “having militants settled in KP in the past”.
“He was called Taliban Khan,” Kundi added, referring to Imran.
Kundi further claimed that KP Chief Minister Afridi was taking “directions from PTI leader Murad Saeed”, whom the governor described as a “runaway”.
He vowed that Saeed “will be brought before the people and made to pay for his actions”.
Speaking about the possibility of governor’s rule in KP, Kundi said: “If the president and prime minister hand the task to the province […] and deem governor’s rule necessary, the province will ensure its implementation.”
He held that governor’s rule was the last resort. “Surgery is the last option; first, you are put on medication. No one wishes to do it,” he said, referring to governor’s rule.
“We want to continue, but if you are pushed to the limit and there is no option left, then it is considered.”
On Monday night, after reaching Kohat’s Lachi tehsil, CM Afridi said while addressing PTI supporters that this time, the party’s struggle was a long one that required endurance and sustained mobilisation, according to a statement issued by his office.
“We must not exhaust ourselves. Our struggle is a long one,” he said, adding that, however, from Oct 8 onwards, a “T20 match” would begin.
Kundi also posted on social media that he had chaired an “important security meeting” with KP Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah, KP’s Inspector General of Police (IGP) Zulfiqar Hameed, and other senior officials.
“The province cannot afford complacency when terrorism, crime and law-and-order challenges continue to threaten our people,” Kundi said, calling on the provincial government to “make the safety of its people its foremost responsibility”.
“Political activity cannot come at the expense of security, and every institution must focus on protecting lives and maintaining peace,” he added.
Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also urged the PTI to end its long march and invited the opposition to sit with the government to resolve contentious issues through political dialogue.
The march so far
After launching the already-postponed march from Lakki Marwat on Sunday afternoon, the KP CM’s caravan reached Karak at night, where Afridi addressed supporters at Jail Chowk.
Ahead of the march, movement on several roads in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan, Upper and Lower South Waziristan, Tank and Hangu was restricted under Section 144 for varying periods.
On Sunday, former KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur, who was leading PTI workers from DI Khan to Lakki Marwat, took a U-turn from Yarik because of road blockades and the prevailing law and order situation.
Noting that Section 144 had been imposed in the area for three days, Gandapur stressed that the party leadership had clearly directed workers not to damage public property or engage in any activity that could worsen the situation.
Nevertheless, he contended that the return should not be viewed as a withdrawal from the protest movement, but as a temporary decision.
In Karachi, a planned protest campaign in different areas was disrupted after police deployed personnel at several locations, blocked roads and detained several party workers and leaders.
The PTI claimed that police detained more than 75 of its leaders and workers, including women, from different parts of Karachi. It further alleged that arrests made in other parts of Sindh, including Sukkur, put the total number of detained PTI workers across the province at more than 100.
On Saturday night, an opposition delegation comprising PTI and Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP), and a joint team of the government and PPP held hours-long negotiations, which ended in a deadlock.
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