PTI march set to enter Khyber on fourth day as CM Afridi calls provincial cabinet meeting

PESHAWAR: The PTI’s long march towards Islamabad entered its fourth day on Wednesday, with the convoy set to move into Khyber district from Mattani on the outskirts of Peshawar, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi called a meeting of the provincial cabinet.

PTI sources said the marchers had camped overnight at Mattani and would enter Khyber today. After a stay in the district, they said, the convoy would head towards Peshawar city tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged PTI to end its long march and sit-in, saying the government would sit down and talk to it if it did. He appealed to the party to “come to its senses”. “For God’s sake, end your long march and sit-in, and if you end it, we will certainly sit with you and talk,” he said, adding that this would let Pakistan move forward with full resolve.

He said the “ominous shadows” of sit-ins and long marches were returning, and that the government and its allies had agreed through mutual consultation to hold meaningful and sincere negotiations with the PTI leadership. “Extensive efforts were made day and night,” he said.

Cabinet meeting called

Afridi will chair the cabinet meeting at the Civil Secretariat in Peshawar at 12:30pm, according to sources. They said matters concerning the provincial government were expected to be discussed, and that the agenda would be finalised soon.

It was not immediately clear whether the march or the situation arising from the collapse of talks with the federal government would feature on the agenda.

Route changed after Kohat

The convoy reached Mattani late on Tuesday after travelling from Kohat. It was originally due to go directly from Kohat to Peshawar and spend the night near Mattani, but the party changed the route on Tuesday.

Addressing participants at University Chowk in Kohat, Afridi said the plan had been altered after residents of Khyber district expressed a desire to host the marchers. “After Khyber district, we will go to Peshawar,” he said, according to remarks shared by the PTI.

Khyber district lies immediately west of Peshawar, a short drive from the provincial capital. Under the earlier schedule, the march was to move from Kohat to Peshawar on October 6 and from Badaber towards Charsadda on October 7, with participants from Khyber joining at Badaber. The revised plan places Khyber ahead of Peshawar.

Afridi described the change as part of the party’s strategy, likening the protest to a “Test match” with many stages still to come. The party has said the first phase will converge at Khairabad, which borders Punjab, on October 8, when Afridi is expected to announce the next course of action.

‘We are unarmed’

In his Kohat address, Afridi thanked residents for their welcome and said he and his supporters would not back down from their demands. He said the PTI had pursued all constitutional, legal and democratic avenues before resorting to street protest, and maintained that its demands, including access to jailed party founder Imran Khan and his medical treatment, were lawful.

He said the party had released a draft of its demands on social media and challenged the government to identify any provision that was unconstitutional or illegal.

“We are unarmed and will record our protest peacefully,” he said, urging supporters to remain peaceful.

Afridi also criticised the federal government’s counterterrorism policy in the province, saying successive military operations and drone strikes had failed to end militancy. He claimed that his proposed policy could restore peace within 100 days. He also accused the federal government of failing to act on court orders concerning Imran Khan and alleged that the former prime minister’s health was being compromised in prison.

How the march began

The march set off from Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat on October 4, after talks between the federal government and the PTI failed to resolve their differences. It moved through Karak before reaching Kohat on Monday.

The negotiations broke down mainly over the federal government’s demand for cooperation on counterterrorism measures in KP, while the PTI sought a jointly agreed approach to security operations in the province. The PTI has also pressed for access for Imran Khan’s lawyers, family, party colleagues and personal doctors.

The two sides have traded blame for the outcome. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said a draft had been agreed before the KP chief minister sought changes, an account the PTI rejects. PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja has said the talks failed over access to Imran Khan and the handling of counterterrorism, and that the party remains ready to return to the table if both issues are settled.

Government stance

Government leaders have taken a hard line on the march. Prime Minister’s Adviser Rana Sanaullah has said it will not be allowed to enter Islamabad, while State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry has said there had been enough leniency and that this would be the country’s last long march.

The march has also disrupted life in the province. Exams in Peshawar were postponed because of it, according to Chaudhry.

The PTI’s immediate plan is for the convoy to stay in Khyber district before moving on to Peshawar, with the Khairabad gathering on October 8 as the next marker. The party has not said what Afridi will announce there.