Karak(National Times)- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday resumed PTI\u2019s march, leading a convoy from from Karak to Kohat where the protesters will spend the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The opposition has gone ahead with its march despite warnings from the Centre, which has vowed to prevent any gatherings in Islamabad. The protest aims to demand the release of jailed party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Afridi-led convoy is aiming to reach Khairabad \u2014 which borders Punjab \u2014 by Oct 8, where the KP chief minister will announce the next plan of action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After reaching Kohat\u2019s Lachi tehsil on Monday night, CM Afridi said while addressing PTI supporters that this time, the party\u2019s struggle was a long one that required endurance and sustained mobilisation, according to a statement issued by his office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe must not exhaust ourselves. Our struggle is a long one,\u201d he said, adding that however, Oct 8 onwards, a \u201cT20 match\u201d would begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CM Afridi called upon the people of Kohat to turn out in overwhelming numbers, saying that the district should not allow any other district to outpace it in terms of participation in the protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe message must go out clearly: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa belongs to Imran Khan, has belonged to Imran Khan, and will remain with Imran Khan,\u201d the chief minister said. \u201cI am a soldier of Imran Khan. The combined strength of the entire world cannot put a price on me, nor can it intimidate me,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the convoy would set out for Peshawar from University Chowk at 3pm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier in the day, Afridi also addressed PTI supporters in Karak, where the protesters arrived on Sunday night, railing against the Centre\u2019s counterterrorism policy and criticising past military operations and drone attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also referred to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi\u2019s remarks from a day earlier, wherein the latter called him \u201cimmature\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He went on to recall Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz\u2019s remarks on the terrorism threat to her province, adding: \u201cSuppose, I say that [my province] does not have a threat from India, but from the other three provinces, will you consider me mature?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The KP chief minister said, \u201cIf you deem it immature to speak about one\u2019s province and people, then I have shown this immaturity yesterday, still do and will keep doing so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He contended that \u201cwrong policies drafted behind closed doors were impacting all institutions\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Expressing his patriotism for Pakistan, he said, \u201cWe also chant Pakistan zindabad; we stand up for the national anthem as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But he added that future generations might not do so as there were attempts to \u201cdivide Pakistan and spread hatred\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Insisting that his party was democratically presenting the public\u2019s demands, Afridi warned that if the situation crossed all limits, neither would he be able to control the public \u201cnor will anyone\u2019s father have the courage\u201d to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He asserted that only those policies would be implemented that the people and the youth desire, and which were in the interests of the nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe will not accept any decision taken behind closed doors that is against us, our province or Pakistan,\u201d the chief minister added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He argued that Imran could secure his release if he wanted but was choosing to remain behind bars for the nation\u2019s \u201cfreedom\u201d. \u201cHe is free even in jail, and we are slaves even when free,\u201d he quipped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chief minister urged people to reach Swabi, adding that no one could even imagine or think of the next plan of action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, Afridi\u2019s focal person for digital media Yar Muhammad Khan Niazi shared a video on X of PTI supporters welcoming the KP CM at Karak\u2019s Jail Chowk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to a post by CM Afridi, the people of Karak were to join the convoy at 12pm, with the departure set for 12:30pm, which faced a delay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The convoy plans to stay overnight in Kohat, and then resume the journey towards Peshawar at noon on Oct 6. It will spend the night near Mattani.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the afternoon of Oct 7, the caravan will depart from Budh Bair in Peshawar and spend the night near Charsadda Interchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The protesters will then move forward the next afternoon and spend the night of Oct 8 at Khairabad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Notably, the KP CM has refrained from detailing the final leg of the trip to the federal capital and said the plan for the next phase would be announced at Khairabad.This screengrab from Google Maps shows the planned route of the PTI convoy from Lakki Marwat to Khairabad, where it is scheduled to reach on Oct 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The march so far<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After launching the already-postponed march from Lakki Marwat on Sunday afternoon, the KP CM\u2019s caravan reached Karak at night, where Afridi addressed supporters at Jail Chowk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ahead of the march, movement on several roads in KP\u2019s Dera Ismail Khan, Upper and Lower South Waziristan, Tank and Hangu was restricted under Section 144 for varying periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Monday, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nevertheless, he contended that the return should not be viewed as a withdrawal from the protest movement, but as a temporary decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the federal government blamed CM Afridi for the failure of negotiations, PTI denied the allegations and claimed that access to Imran, his medical treatment and the federal government\u2019s counterterrorism policy were the key reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to PTI, the government agreed to restore meetings between Imran and his family members and lawyers from Tuesday, but \u201cdeclined to make access to Imran Khan part of the proposed agreement\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karak(National Times)- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday resumed PTI\u2019s march, leading a convoy from from Karak to Kohat where the protesters will spend the night. The opposition has gone ahead with its march despite warnings from the Centre, which has vowed to prevent any gatherings in Islamabad. The protest aims to demand […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n