Politics
When Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi arrived in Lakki Marwat on Sunday, a large crowd had gathered to welcome him.
When Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi arrived in Lakki Marwat on Sunday, a large crowd had gathered to welcome him. However, when his convoy departed Lakki Marwat for Karak, the number of participants dropped significantly. According to “diary reports” maintained by police and other law enforcement agencies, the number of workers accompanying the convoy has been steadily declining since its departure from Lakki Marwat, as it travelled through Peshawar and onward to Afridi’s home district of Khyber.
A senior police officer stationed in Peshawar said that police and other agencies were continuously monitoring the convoy’s security and regularly submitting reports to senior officials. According to these reports, the number of workers travelling with the convoy was considerably lower than the number of people who gathered at departure points or to welcome the chief minister, and the number continued to decrease. Officials said security was being provided at every point along the route and that the number of participants was being closely monitored.
According to an official report, when the chief minister arrived in Lakki Marwat on Sunday to launch the long march towards Islamabad, workers had gathered at Gandi Chowk. They had come from Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat and other districts, while workers from Quetta were also present.
Police officials at the scene estimated that the crowd numbered between 8,000 and 15,000. However, they said that by the time the convoy reached Karak, the number had fallen from thousands to just a few hundred. “People were present in Karak and welcomed the chief minister before returning to their homes. Only around 200 to 300 workers remained at the camp,” the officials said. Police officials added that workers were also present when the chief minister reached Kohat from Karak. However, at the PTI camp in Peshawar that night, the number of police personnel assigned to security was greater than the number of PTI workers. “Our observation is that wherever the chief minister goes, people come out to welcome him, but then return home instead of travelling with the convoy,” the officials said.
According to police officials, contrary to PTI’s claims, the number of participants in the Islamabad long march is likely to remain in the thousands, while the party has claimed it will gather four million people. A senior PTI leader also acknowledged that there was a considerable difference between the number of people turning out to welcome the chief minister and those actually accompanying the convoy, and admitted that the numbers were declining.
The leader said that PTI’s main mobilisation effort would begin in Swabi, and that Sohail Afridi was travelling through different areas at a relaxed pace in preparation for that stage. According to the leader, when Afridi reaches Swabi, party workers will arrive under the leadership of their elected representatives, where the chief minister will announce the next course of action. The PTI leader claimed that people were mobilising and would reach Swabi for the party’s final call. The leader also said the chief minister planned to visit Malakand to activate workers and encourage larger participation.
The leader added that travelling with the chief minister’s convoy was difficult and time-consuming, and that the party was therefore trying to ensure the largest possible turnout in Swabi. PTI Member of the National Assembly Shandana Gulzar told V News that convoys from different divisions would arrive at different times. “The Peshawar Division’s convoy will reach Swabi on October 11. The Hazara and Malakand convoys will arrive according to their own schedules. Once all the convoys have gathered, the number of participants will reach the hundreds of thousands,” she said.
PTI has denied reports of internal divisions over the Islamabad march. However, people familiar with the party’s affairs say there are serious disagreements within its ranks over the long march. According to these sources, senior party members want negotiations to take place and want to avoid a confrontation, while the group supporting Sohail Afridi is determined to reach Islamabad. They warned that confrontation and protests could lead to further tensions with state institutions, ultimately harming the party itself. A PTI leader said that many of the party’s senior members had disappeared from public view and were also not visibly involved in preparations for the Islamabad march.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf maintains that the long march led by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi is proceeding successfully, with large numbers of workers participating. Akram Kathana, PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s deputy secretary for information, told V News that the way workers had turned out and welcomed Afridi from Lakki Marwat to Khyber had left the party’s opponents deeply unsettled. He claimed that when the convoy that began its journey in Lakki Marwat reaches Swabi, it will be met by a “sea of people,” and that Islamabad remains its ultimate destination.
