PTI KP Leader Urges Further Long March Delay, Cites Emergency Risk
PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN — WEB DESK: A senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has urged the party to further postpone its planned October 4 long march towards Islamabad, warning that the possibility of emergency measures in the province should be taken seriously.
PTI KP Information Secretary Shaukat Yousafzai said the party leadership should reconsider the timing of the protest in light of the political situation. His remarks represent his position within the party; PTI has not announced another postponement.
The comments expose differing views within PTI over how to proceed with the planned mobilisation. Senator Ali Zafar has said the October 4 march is final and non-negotiable, according to Geo News, while Yousafzai has advocated another delay.
PTI originally planned to begin its Islamabad long march on September 27, but KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced on September 25 that it had been postponed until October 4. Afridi said the march would depart from Peshawar.
Yousafzai had previously described that postponement as a “political strategy”, saying PTI supported a peaceful political struggle and urging the federal government to engage in practical negotiations.
Afridi has also offered talks to the federal government, arguing that outstanding issues should be resolved through mutual understanding before the march. He said the party’s political committee had decided to give the government additional time.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja similarly said the postponement was intended to provide more time for the government to reconsider its position. He rejected reports that the delay resulted from backchannel contacts.
However, disagreement over the strategy has emerged inside PTI. Former KP chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur said on Monday that changing the march date had weakened the party and hurt its momentum.
Speculation about emergency measures or governor’s rule in KP has added another dimension to the dispute. KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said last week that consultations had taken place over governor’s rule and that the Constitution provided for such a measure. That statement did not establish that governor’s rule or an emergency had been imposed.
PTI has said its planned demonstration will remain peaceful. Before the original September 27 date, Yousafzai instructed participants not to carry sticks, slingshots or weapons and said anyone doing so would not be associated with the party.
The October 4 march therefore remains scheduled at the time of reporting. Yousafzai’s latest statement is a call for reconsideration rather than confirmation of another change in the protest date.
