ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Secretary Shaukat Yousafzai on Tuesday urged the party leadership to further postpone the part’s planned October 4 march, citing security concerns and the risk of emergency rule.
In a letter to PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and other senior leaders, Yousafzai said the march should be postponed further 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 for imposing emergency rule, with a possible attack from Afghanistan serving as justification.
He also alleged that the federal government was building a narrative that the KP government was not cooperating with the centre.
Yousafzai cautioned that this could lead to attempts to dissolve the provincial government, accuse the PTI of supporting terrorism or impose a ban on the party.
Recalling PTI founder Imran Khan’s precedent, he noted that Khan had previously ended a long march to protect party workers’ lives.
He urged the leadership to take his concerns seriously and pursue dialogue with the state rather than confrontation.
The intervention comes days after the PTI postponed its September 27 march to October 4. The party is seeking the release of its jailed founder and what it describes as the “restoration” of constitutional supremacy.
Gohar rejected the proposal and reaffirmed the October 4 decision, while dismissing reports that the PTI was considering dissolving the KP Assembly.
He said Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had Imran Khan’s full confidence and could not be disqualified “under any circumstances”.
No consultation, he added, had taken place on finding an alternative to Afridi and reports to the contrary were fabricated.
According to PTI sources, Yousafzai’s letter conveyed a joint message from some PTI MPAs reportedly associated with former Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s group, who are opposing the long march.
They also claimed the group had close ties to the powerful establishment and was indirectly opposing the march through such letters, raising concerns that the protest could face hurdles. Yousafzai could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, talking to reporters, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said the government had not refused talks with the PTI but objected to making Khan’s release a precondition.
He said the courts, not the government, were the forum for Khan’s release. Legal and constitutional channels existed, he added, but the PTI could not secure his release through rallies, processions and marches.
Regarding the Supreme Court’s order on Khan’s transfer to a private hospital, Tarar said the court had ordered a medical examination and it had been completed. Any shortcomings in implementation, he said, were for the court to examine.
PTI Senator Ali Zafar said postponing the march from September 27 to October 4 had given the government an opportunity for talks.
He said proper negotiations should be held through committees in closed rooms and maintained that the October 4 march was final, adding that the government was afraid of it.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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