PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Secretary Shaukat Yousafzai has urged the party leadership to further postpone the long march, now scheduled for October 4, warning that the risk of emergency rule made it imperative to delay the protest.
In the letter addressed to PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar and other party leaders on Tuesday, Yousafzai said the march should be postponed in the wider national interest, particularly given the security situation and increased terrorist activity.
He warned that the federal government could use certain issues as a pretext to impose emergency rule, and that a possible attack from Afghanistan could serve as justification for such a move.
He said the federal government was building a narrative that the KP government was not cooperating, and that this could lead to attempts to dissolve the provincial government or accuse the party of supporting terrorism, potentially leading to a ban on PTI.
He cited PTI founder Imran Khan’s own precedent of ending a previous long march to protect workers’ lives and urged the leadership to take his concerns seriously. He called for dialogue with the state rather than confrontation.
The letter comes days after PTI announced that its long march towards Islamabad, originally scheduled for September 27, had been postponed to October 4.
The former ruling party was preparing for a major protest and march on Islamabad, demanding the release of its jailed founder Imran Khan and the “restoration” of constitutional supremacy.
Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Gohar rejected the suggestion and reaffirmed the long march decision, saying the party had no intention of dissolving the KP provincial assembly and that Chief Minister Sohail Afridi could not be disqualified under any circumstances.
He said no consultation had taken place regarding finding an alternative to Afridi and that reports to the contrary were fabricated. He said Afridi had the full confidence of PTI founder Imran Khan and would remain chief minister. –Agencies
