PTI Postpones Long March to Islamabad

According to a report by a private TV channel, citing sources, the issue facing the decision-makers is no longer limited to the PTI’s long march; rather, the issue now concerns the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi told journalists on Friday that the long march would now begin on October 4. Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had announced that it would launch its protest on September 27.  According to Reuters, PTI spokesperson Zulfiqar Bukhari said that although the date of the long march had been changed, the party could launch the protest whenever it deemed appropriate. Bukhari questioned how long the government intended to keep the country shut down.  Ahead of the proposed protest, Pakistani authorities had restricted access to the federal capital, Islamabad, earlier this week. Containers were placed on major roads, while thousands of security personnel were deployed.

According to local media reports, authorities have also detained three sisters of Imran Khan and hundreds of PTI workers in recent days, citing the need to maintain law and order. The PTI’s last major protest, held two years ago, ended in deadly clashes with security forces.  Imran Khan, 73, has been in prison since August 2023. The former prime minister was removed from office through a vote of no confidence in Parliament in April 2022. Khan describes the cases against him as politically motivated and maintains that he is being imprisoned for political reasons.

Meanwhile, according to another report by a private TV channel, citing sources, the issue for the decision-makers is no longer simply the PTI’s long march; rather, the focus has shifted to the government of Sohail Afridi.  The sources claim that the matter has now gone beyond the long march, as it has become an issue of national security. They further claim that a decision has been made that the Sohail Afridi government will have to go.

According to the sources, the main issue now is that Sohail Afridi and his associates are allegedly working with terrorists to weaken Pakistan, which is contributing to an increase in terrorism in the country. Therefore, the sources claim, it has been decided that the Sohail Afridi government will have to be removed.  The sources further said that while the government may be thinking about the matter differently, the decision-makers believe that the issue is no longer limited to the PTI’s long march. If the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf wants to hold the long march, it can do so, and if it wants to postpone it, it can postpone it. According to the sources, the issue has moved beyond the long march because it is now being viewed as a matter of national security.