PTI Says September 27 Islamabad March Will Go Ahead, Bars Workers From Carrying Weapons
- PTI says the march will proceed as planned and instructs workers to remain peaceful.
- Party officials say anyone carrying sticks, slingshots or weapons will have no connection with PTI.
- KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi says the march is a protest, not an armed struggle.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said on Wednesday that its September 27 march towards Islamabad would go ahead as planned, while directing supporters to leave sticks, slingshots and weapons behind.
PTI’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Secretary Shaukat Yousafzai said the party had agreed on its march strategy and instructed workers to remain peaceful. Anyone found carrying the prohibited items would have no connection with PTI, he told Geo News. If authorities stopped the marchers on their way to Islamabad, they would sit and protest at that location, he added.
Also Read:
The party is calling for the release of its jailed founder, Imran Khan, and what it describes as the restoration of constitutional supremacy. PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram said the September 27 protest had been discussed in an online meeting and that no participant had proposed postponing it.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan said grievances raised by political protesters should be heard through dialogue. He warned against the use of net launchers on marchers, saying the party had announced its programme well in advance and had no plans to change it.
Gohar also said Imran Khan continued to support KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and that party members stood behind him. He met Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to discuss preparations for the march.
Speaking at a law and order meeting in Peshawar, Afridi said PTI intended to hold a peaceful demonstration, with no plan for an armed struggle or attack. He said the right to assemble was protected by the Constitution and that the party would exercise it.
Afridi said KP police and residents had faced terrorism for 22 years. He credited their sacrifices with helping maintain peace in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and other areas from 2018 to 2022. He also said his government had provided the police with Rs35 billion in additional funding beyond last year’s annual budget and had raised this year’s police budget from Rs80 billion to Rs190 billion.
The chief minister said modern armoured personnel carriers had been prepared for Islamabad while KP police had yet to receive comparable vehicles. He added that since taking office, he had never directed police officers to act unlawfully, pursue political or personal revenge, or register a false case.
Afridi warned that the provincial government would take its own measures if federal institutions used the police for political retaliation.
