LAKKI MARWAT — Talks between the government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) failed to break the deadlock, pushing Imran Khan’s party to go ahead with planned long march from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Islamabad.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced that the first phase of the PTI march would begin at 1pm today, October 4, from Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat, turning a high-stakes political standoff into a street mobilisation.
The development came after a second round of government-opposition negotiations ended without an agreement. The talks, aimed at preventing the march and easing political tensions, failed to bridge differences between the two sides.
Afridi’s announced schedule maps out a five-day mobilisation across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The opening convoy will bring together supporters from Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Bannu and Lakki Marwat. The participants will travel towards Karak, where the convoy is scheduled to spend its first night.
On October 5, residents of Karak will join the march at noon. The convoy is scheduled to leave at 12:30pm and head towards Kohat.
Next day of October 6, supporters from Kohat, Hangu, Kurram and Orakzai are expected to join the procession. From Kohat, the convoy will move towards Peshawar and spend the night near Matani. The mobilisation will then move deeper into central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
On October 7, the convoy is scheduled to resume from Budh Bair in Peshawar at 12:30pm. Participants from Khyber District will join there, while supporters from other parts of Peshawar are expected to join at Kohat Road Bridge and the motorway toll plaza.
The convoy will then head towards the Charsadda Interchange, where it is scheduled to spend the night. On October 8, the march will resume from Charsadda Interchange at 12:30pm, with participants from Charsadda and Mohmand joining the procession.
Afridi said supporters arriving from across KP will ultimately converge at Khairabad, where the party will announce the strategy for the next phase of the movement.
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The march comes after hours of negotiations between the government and opposition ended in a stalemate. One of the central sticking points was the opposition’s demand that its representatives be allowed to meet jailed PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan before taking a final decision on withdrawing the march. The government, meanwhile, pressed for the protest to be called off.
The government has also stressed cooperation in counterterrorism operations as a key issue. Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah subsequently warned that the march would not be allowed to enter Islamabad, while maintaining that the government remained open to political engagement.
Afridi portrayed the march as a constitutional and political struggle, saying PTI supporters would continue their campaign for the supremacy of the Constitution and law and the restoration of an independent judiciary. He has also said PTI would neither allow nor permit a repeat of the May 9, 2023 violence.
The chief minister’s stance has placed the federal government and the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration on an increasingly confrontational path, with the next few days likely to determine whether the mobilisation remains a provincial political campaign or develops into a broader confrontation with the federal authorities.
PTI Long March kicks off today as Govt-Opposition Talks end in Deadlock
