Kundi Warns PTI's Long March Will Not Be Allowed Past Attock
Kundi Warns PTI’s Long March Will Not Be Allowed Past Attock
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has vowed that the PTI long march will not be allowed past Attock into Punjab, declaring the party does not have the capacity to take its protest further.
Speaking on Geo News programme Geo Pakistan on Tuesday, Kundi said the marchers would be stopped at Attock, the Punjab district bordering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “They cannot go any further than Attock,” he said.
The governor scoffed at the PTI’s claims about its mobilisation. “They claim to have two million people with them [but] show us the people, they don’t have the capacity,” he said.
Why the PTI long march is on the road
The PTI launched its long march on Sunday afternoon from Lakki Marwat to demand the release of Imran Khan. The federal government has vowed that no gatherings will be permitted in Islamabad.
The march is led by KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, whose convoy aims to reach Khairabad, which borders Punjab, by October 8, where he will announce the next plan of action.
The protest follows the collapse of weekend talks between the PTI and the federal government, mainly over counterterrorism policy. The PTI has cited access to Imran Khan, his medical treatment and the counterterrorism approach as its reasons for marching.
Kundi also claimed the chief minister takes “directions from PTI leader Murad Saeed”, whom he called a “runaway”, and vowed Saeed would be made to answer for his actions.
PTI long march route: from Lakki Marwat toward Khairabad
The march set off from Lakki Marwat on Sunday afternoon and reached Karak by night, where Afridi addressed supporters at Jail Chowk. The convoy stayed overnight in Kohat and was due to resume toward Peshawar at 3pm on Tuesday.
From there, the plan is to depart from Budh Bair in Peshawar on the afternoon of October 7, spend the night near the Charsadda Interchange, and reach Khairabad on the night of October 8, where Afridi will announce the next plan of action.
Addressing supporters in Kohat’s Lachi tehsil on Monday night, Afridi said: “We must not exhaust ourselves. Our struggle is a long one,” adding that from October 8 onwards a “T20 match” would begin.
Authorities have restricted movement on several roads in DI Khan, Upper and Lower South Waziristan, Tank and Hangu under Section 144. Former KP chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who was leading workers from DI Khan toward Lakki Marwat, turned back from Yarik on Sunday after running into road blockades.
In Karachi, the PTI’s parallel protest campaign was disrupted, with the party claiming more than 75 leaders and workers detained in the city and over 100 across Sindh.
Governor’s rule a last resort, says Kundi
Asked about the possibility of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kundi called it a last resort. “Surgery is the last option; first, you are put on medication. No one wishes to do it,” he said, adding that the province would implement the decision if the president and prime minister deemed it appropriate.
Saturday night’s hours-long negotiations between a PTI-led delegation and a joint government team ended in deadlock, with the government blaming the KP chief minister. The government agreed to restore Imran Khan’s meetings with family and lawyers from Tuesday, but would not make access to him part of the proposed agreement.
What did Kundi say about the PTI march?
Kundi said the PTI long march would not be allowed to proceed past Attock, claimed the party lacked the capacity to push further, and challenged it to “try to take a step” beyond the Punjab border district.
Where is the PTI long march now?
The march began in Lakki Marwat on October 4, passed through Karak and Kohat, and is heading toward Peshawar. The convoy aims to reach Khairabad, on the Punjab border, by October 8.
Why did talks between the government and PTI fail?
Weekend negotiations collapsed mainly over counterterrorism policy, with the government blaming the KP chief minister. The PTI linked the march to demands over access to Imran Khan, his medical treatment and the counterterrorism approach.
