Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s long march entered its second day on Monday, with convoys moving from Karak towards Kohat as part of a five-day mobilisation across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa announced by the party’s provincial leadership.
The march began on Sunday afternoon from Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat, where Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi led the main caravan. According to the schedule announced by the chief minister, participants from Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Bannu and Lakki Marwat assembled at Gandi Chowk before moving towards Karak, where they spent the night.
On Monday, supporters from Karak joined the procession around noon before the convoy departed for Kohat, where an overnight stay is planned. The schedule for the coming days envisages participants from Kohat, Hangu, Kurram and Orakzai joining on October 6 before the march moves towards Peshawar. On October 7, the caravan is to resume from the Peshawar area and move towards the Charsadda interchange, and on October 8 caravans from across the province are expected to converge at Khairabad, where the party leadership says the plan for the next phase will be announced.
Demands and government response
According to the PTI, the march seeks the release of party founder Imran Khan and what it describes as the supremacy of the Constitution and law. Chief Minister Afridi has said the party’s demands include ensuring the legal, human and medical rights of Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi, and facilitating their meetings with family members, lawyers and companions.
The federal government has repeatedly warned that the march will not be allowed to enter Islamabad. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the PTI had been given the option to hold a protest but the government would not permit what he described as an attempt to create a disturbance, warning that violators of official orders would be pursued.
Talks fail to break deadlock
The march began after hours-long negotiations between the government and the opposition ended without a breakthrough. A second round of talks was held at Parliament House under the chairmanship of National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, but the two sides remained divided over issues including meetings with the PTI founder and counterterrorism policy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
So far, the PTI has not announced a fresh schedule for any march towards Islamabad beyond the current five-day phase within the province.
