Peshawar, 06 October (H.S.): Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Tuesday warned that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march towards Islamabad would not be allowed to proceed beyond Attock in Punjab. He said the PTI march would be stopped at Attock at all costs. Attock borders Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to a report by Dawn, the opposition PTI has proceeded with its march despite warnings from the federal government. The Centre has vowed to prevent any gathering from reaching Islamabad. The march is aimed at intensifying the demand for the release of jailed PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan. The PTI decided to launch the march after weekend talks with the federal government failed to bridge differences, particularly over counterterrorism policy.

The governor said the march, being led by KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, is scheduled to reach Khairabad, near the Punjab border, by October 8, where the chief minister will announce the next course of action. “They cannot go any further than Attock,” Kundi said, challenging the PTI to try taking even a single step beyond Attock. He claimed that the party did not have the capacity to proceed further and questioned its claim of having two million people with the march.

Kundi said the province was grappling with terrorism while the chief minister wanted to march towards Islamabad instead. He said the PTI long march had also been discussed during his recent meeting in Peshawar with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. The governor criticised the PTI-led KP government for what he described as silence over terrorist incidents. He said that when the federal government sought its support against militancy, the PTI called for the army to leave the province and for dialogue with Afghanistan. He also accused jailed PTI founder Imran Khan of having allowed militants to settle in KP in the past. These were the governor’s allegations.

Meanwhile, on Monday night, after reaching Lachi tehsil in Kohat, Chief Minister Afridi addressed PTI supporters and said the party’s struggle this time would be a prolonged one requiring patience and sustained mobilisation. “We must not exhaust ourselves. Our struggle is a long one,” he said, adding that a “T20 match” would begin from October 8. The chief minister’s convoy spent the night in Kohat and was scheduled to resume its journey towards Peshawar at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

The convoy is scheduled to depart from Budh Bair in Peshawar on the afternoon of October 7 and spend the night near the Charsadda Interchange. The protesters are then scheduled to move forward the following afternoon and spend the night of October 8 at Khairabad. Chief Minister Afridi has not disclosed details of the final leg of the journey towards Islamabad, saying that the plan for the next phase would be announced at Khairabad.

Meanwhile, in view of the planned march, police personnel have been deployed at several locations in Karachi, with Dawn reporting road blockades and the detention of PTI workers and leaders during the planned protest campaign.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar