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September 25, 2026

PTI's Long March to Islamabad to Start from Peshawar on October 4: K-P CM Afridi

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Friday night  confirmed  that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) long march to Islamabad would kick off from Peshawar on October 4 instead of the previous September 27 date.

It said it was the unanimous decision of the party's political committee.

While addressing the press conference in Peshawar, CM Afridi pledged to respect “men in uniforms”.

He further said that if the uniformed personnel would hold the law and constitution in abeyance, the party will use peaceful methods to stop them, “Through words and an embrace.”

“We will not take up arms, clubs or stones to attack them. We will only remind them about their duty,” CM Afridi stressed.

He also said around 65,000 police personnel have been appointed to oversee the situation in K-P, but have not been provided basic facilities such as food and housing. The chief minister said the provincial government was ready to host and feed them, if asked.

"The people of K-P are welcoming towards guests."

During the speech, the chief minister also sought the attention of Islamabad High Court Chief Justice (CJ) Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar.

"CJ Dogar, your orders have been flouted. You said Islamabad would not be closed. It is closed right now. Kindly oversee that your directions are implemented," the PTI-backed CM Afridi appealed in his latest presser.

He also requested Supreme Court CJ Yahya Afridi to look into the matter while stating that K-P was his province and it has been disconnected from the rest of the country.

“You should look into the rights of the people of this province,” he urged.

Responding to questions regarding the security situation, CM Afridi said, “The province has been under threat since the terrorists were rehoused in K-P.” He also lamented that the NFC share of K-P had not been updated since 2018, even after the merger of tribal areas. 

Reverting to the long march, he assured party workers that the long march, describing it as a test match, had already begun. He said the march was a political move to get the demands of the province approved.

"They have turned Islamabad into containerabad," he said, adding that the party would pursue the march anyway as the people across the country have grown extremely wary of current government policies. He asserted that the anger was "quite assertive this time" and the establishment has measured it.

The PTI leadership earlier decided to postpone its planned long march on Islamabad until October 4 or 5, according to party sources.

The PTI had  announced  last month that it would march to Islamabad on September 27 to press for the release of party founder Imran Khan. The party had been preparing a central convoy from K-P, with caravans from other parts of the country expected to join before proceeding towards the federal capital. The federal government warned the party against going ahead with the march.

The decision was taken by the party’s political committee after consultations on whether to proceed with the march on the previously announced date of September 27. A majority of the leadership had favoured holding the march as scheduled, but the committee ultimately agreed to defer it until October 4, party sources added.

The source also revealed that Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP), led by National Assembly Opposition Leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai, has refused to back the proposal to delay the march.

Achakzai has made it clear that the march should begin on September 27; otherwise, the TTAP will not support the march. The source said attempts are being made to convince the TTAP chief.

Earlier, K-P CM Afridi, speaking at a  press conference  at the Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar, said that the planned long march on Islamabad would go ahead despite road blockades and other measures. “Our long march will definitely take place. This time, we will definitely come out,” he said.

The chief minister criticised the placement of nails on roads at the K-P boundary, saying the move raised questions about whether the province was being cut off from the rest of the country. “No matter how many nails they put in the roads, this long march will not be stopped,” he said.

Afridi also questioned what he called a growing narrative that one province faced threats from other provinces rather than India. He also said that officials from one province had entered another and clashed with government employees.

“A narrative has been created for the past month that one province faces a threat from the other three provinces,” he said, asking whether the people of K-P were being portrayed negatively.

He added that PTI parliamentary leader Shahid Khattak and the provincial information minister had been barred from appearing in the media. – The Express Tribune

Courtesy The Express Tribune

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