PESHAWAR – UNS: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday led a PTI protest convoy from Kohat towards Mattani on the outskirts of Peshawar as the party resumed its march demanding the release of jailed founder Imran Khan.
PTI KP Information Deputy Secretary Ikram Khatana said the protesters would spend the night in Mattani. The march began from Lakki Marwat on October 4, with the convoy reaching Kohat on Monday night.
The protesters plan to reach Khairabad, on the KP-Punjab border, by October 8, where Afridi is expected to announce the next phase of the movement. PTI has previously declared Islamabad as the ultimate destination, although its plans beyond Khairabad have not yet been disclosed.
Addressing supporters at University Chowk in Kohat, Afridi criticised the federal government’s counterterrorism policy, claiming that years of military operations had failed to eliminate terrorism in KP. He said he had proposed an alternative policy that could restore peace within 100 days.
Afridi also vowed that the PTI would continue its protest peacefully, saying the party had exhausted legal and constitutional avenues to raise its demands. He warned that if the march eventually moved towards Islamabad, “nobody would be able to stop” it.
The chief minister also expressed concern over reports about Imran Khan’s deteriorating health in jail, saying the jail administration and other relevant authorities would be responsible if any harm came to the former prime minister.
Meanwhile, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said the PTI march would not be allowed to advance beyond Attock in Punjab. Speaking to Geo News, Kundi challenged the protesters to attempt to cross the border, asserting that the party lacked the capacity to move further.
