Peshawar: Following an intense series of law enforcement operations aimed at suppressing opposition mobilization, Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) has vowed to press ahead with its scheduled 27 September protest march to the federal capital. Addressing a joint press conference at the Chief Minister House in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi stated that the party’s parliamentary committee had unanimously decided to exercise its constitutional entitlement to peaceful assembly.
He condemned recent state actions including the arrest of Imran Khan’s sisters, an armed attack targeting Cabinet Minister Shakeel Khan, and the alleged abduction of Labour Minister Fazal Shakoor Khan as deliberate provocation intended to incite unrest. CM Afridi emphasised that rather than weakening the opposition, such heavy handed tactics would only bolster public resolve ahead of the detailed protest framework announcement on 25 September.
Speaking alongside the Chief Minister, PTI interim Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan urged the federal authorities to review their approach. He revealed that over 1,500 party workers, alongside five MNAs, a former senator, and several provincial lawmakers, had been taken into custody. Barrister Gohar reiterated that PTI remains a peaceful political force seeking resolution through constitutional channels, highlighting that the party had approached high courts 25 times and the Supreme Court 19 times over the past four years without receiving relief.
