‘Not your way, not my way’: Gohar urges middle path as PTI long march enters fifth day | The Express Tribune

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi on Thursday vowed to continue the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march, saying there was “no way back” as the party’s convoy reached Peshawar on the fifth consecutive day of its journey.

Addressing participants of the march, Afridi said the political and democratic struggle would continue within the framework of the Constitution and law and thanked the people of Khyber, the southern districts and Peshawar for participating in the march and urged them to maintain their passion and enthusiasm.

“There is no way back. The dream of true freedom will certainly be fulfilled. They will fire bullets, and we will offer our chests,” he said.

The chief minister said the march was a struggle for “true freedom” and claimed that PTI founder Imran Khan had stood by the nation despite all difficulties and had not bowed to pressure.

“This is the youth’s long march. This is not a fixed match; it will be a decisive march,” Afridi said, using cricketing terminology to describe the movement.

“First we will play a Test match, then a T20 and finally a T10,” he added.

He said he would wait for the participants in Swabi and lead the march himself, adding that the convoy would head towards Swabi and “make them lose sleep”.

Afridi also defended the performance of the K-P government, saying those questioning its achievements were “in a state of panic”. He said the provincial government had promoted e-governance in line with modern requirements and received a Digital Governance Award.

He claimed that the provincial assembly had secured the first position worldwide. The chief minister said the K-P government had not used a government aircraft to obtain the awards, drawing a comparison with Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, whom he said had travelled on an official aircraft to attend her daughter’s graduation ceremony.

“The establishment cannot see the performance of the K-P government,” he said.

He accused the PML-N and PPP of pursuing a “particular agenda”, alleging that they were dividing Pakistan, increasing hatred and promoting prejudice while also alleging that President Asif Ali Zardari was conspiring to impose governor’s rule against a government elected by “90 per cent” people of the province.

The chief minister also criticised the Punjab chief minister over what he described as a narrative against the K-P government and the country as a whole. Referring to a state narrative that “Fitna al Hindustan” was involved in terrorism, he contrasted it with the Punjab chief minister’s reported statement that Punjab faced threats from other provinces rather than India.

“So who is the terrorist — me or the one making this narrative?” he asked.

Afridi also accused the authorities of attempting to silence the PTI by shutting down mobile signals.

“Despite the signals being shut down, they are trembling with fear,” he said, adding that had the signals remained active, the authorities would have “lost their senses” after seeing the turnout.

He said Pakistan had always had “two constitutions” — one for the powerful and rich and another for the weak and poor. According to him, a particular mindset had consistently used the Pakhtuns as a “laboratory” for experiments.

“From 2004 until today, 22 major and 14,000 intelligence-based operations have been conducted,” he claimed.

Afridi said 80,000 lives had been sacrificed but affected families had not even been paid Rs400,000. He questioned why K-P was now being portrayed as a threat to other provinces despite the sacrifices made by its people.

“If this statement is a repudiation of the state’s longstanding narrative, then who is the terrorist?” he asked.

He said the mindset that disregarded the people’s mandate experimented on the Pakhtuns first and subsequently divided the country and created hatred among the people.

“We will not fall for anyone’s narrative and will not allow the country to break apart. Our leader is a symbol of national unity,” he said.

The chief minister described Khan’s imprisonment as unjust and said all efforts to make him bow had failed. He said the PTI had presented seven demands and challenged its opponents to prove even one of them illegal.

“Permission was sought for military operations, an emergency and drone attacks, but I clearly refused,” Afridi said.

He claimed that the objective was more to eliminate the PTI than to eliminate terrorism and said peace could be restored within 100 days if his government’s policy was implemented.

“The objective is more to eliminate the PTI than to eliminate terrorism,” he said.

Afridi also praised the performance of Khan’s government, saying the country had witnessed development and prosperity during his three-year tenure.

“Before the regime change, Pakistan’s per capita income was $1,700, and GDP growth was more than 6pc. The most important thing was that there was peace in the country,” he said.

He said Khan would have to be released to put the country back on the path of development. Referring to poverty, he said that according to the World Bank, 48pc of Pakistan’s population was below the poverty line, while rulers continued to hold press conferences claiming that the country was progressing.

“Even if our opponents bring all institutions and national and international establishments together, they cannot defeat us,” the chief minister said.

Afridi said the next course of action would be announced in Charsadda the following day. He said part of the “actual plan” would be revealed in Charsadda, while the final plan would be announced in Swabi.

“What the destination beyond Swabi will be, we will tell you in Swabi itself,” he said.

Earlier, in post on X, PTI said that the “grand caravan” of the long march, under the leadership of CM Afridi, had reached Hayat Toll Plaza in Peshawar.

“Everyone has a single demand: Ensure true freedom in the country, the supremacy of the Constitution and law, and the provision of justice,” it said.

The statement said the people of Peshawar had “shattered the idols of fear” and were standing firm with their leader Imran Khan and their elected chief minister.

“Insha’Allah, by the time it reaches Swabi, this caravan will become the largest long march in Pakistan’s history. This journey will not stop, Insha’Allah!” it said.

Around 8pm, the convoy was passing through Kohat Road in Peshawar.

‘Not your way, not my way’: Gohar urges middle path

Meanwhile, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Khan called for renewed political dialogue, saying the party remained willing to pursue a “middle way” to prevent further instability and safeguard the democratic system.

“We sat down for negotiations with complete honesty, sincerity and good faith, without any conditions. We did not want to sit in negotiations in such a situation, when we had not met our leader, but we made the effort to sit down. Something is better than nothing. Not your way, not my way, but a middle way. Should move forward somehow, whatever happened, for the sake of the country, the nation and democracy,” said Gohar during a press conference in Charsadda.

He regretted that the talks had ended abruptly after two days and said there was still time for both the government and opposition to reconsider their positions.

“We remained seated for two days, but abruptly everything ended. It should not have ended. There is still time. Reality is that both the government and opposition vehicles are stuck in the mud. How do we get this vehicle out of the mud and bring it onto the motorway? We are also calling out; they are also calling out, ‘Let us come onto the motorway,’ he added.

Gohar said the only way to prevent the system from being derailed was to set aside egos and allow “common sense” to prevail.

He also called for an end to enforced disappearances and raised concern over the imprisonment of Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi and members of the former prime minister’s family.

Referring to reports about Bushra Bibi’s health, Gohar said: “Last night, reports emerged that Bushra Bibi was unwell. We are all very concerned. I have asked that we be informed about her condition. So far, we do not know how she is.”

He urged authorities with information about her health to immediately inform the party.

Turning to speculation over governor’s rule or an emergency in K-P, Gohar said such measures were not a solution to the province’s political and security challenges.

He argued that imposing governor’s rule or an emergency would increase anger, alienation and political tensions among people in the province, which was already facing a serious law-and-order and terrorism challenge.

Gohar said PTI had made preparations to respond politically and legally to any “unforeseen circumstances”, while insisting that the party wanted all sides to avoid unconstitutional measures.

He also questioned the constitutional scope of the K-P governor’s role, arguing that after the 18th Amendment the governor largely performed a ceremonial function and that executive authority rested with the chief minister.

“The governor does not have the authority to issue directions on the law-and-order situation,” Gohar said, adding that all institutions should function within constitutional and legal boundaries.

Gohar strongly rejected suggestions that PTI, its workers or its provincial government had ever supported terrorism.

“I strongly reject the claim that PTI, the party, its workers, supporters or chief minister have ever supported terrorism,” he said.

He called for the implementation of the National Action Plan and urged the government and opposition to develop a single national narrative against terrorism rather than use the issue for political point-scoring.

“If terrorism takes place in K-P, Balochistan or Sindh, it is Pakistan’s terrorism problem. If anyone dies or is martyred, they are ours,” Gohar said.

He criticised government figures who, he said, had compared PTI supporters coming to Islamabad with terrorists, arguing that such rhetoric was inappropriate for political office-holders.

Gohar said counterterrorism policy should be coordinated nationally and discussed through apex committees and broader political consultations.

“If there is terrorism, take action against it. Wherever it is coming from, call meetings and take steps to eliminate it,” he said.

He also called for an all-parties conference involving political parties across the spectrum so that a common position could be developed against terrorism.

“When all political parties and people are with you, there will be one narrative against terrorism. When you take action, no one will oppose it; everyone will support it,” he said.

The PTI chairman also welcomed opposition by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Jamaat-e-Islami and Awami National Party leaders to the possible imposition of governor’s rule or an emergency in K-P.

Gohar said he hoped the JUI-F chief could play a constructive role in breaking the political deadlock.

“The situation is not moving towards improvement. If people do not move away from their rigid positions and these serious matters continue, the ending will not be good,” he said.

He said Jamaat-e-Islami chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman had also offered to play a role and added that all political parties — whether in government, opposition or outside electoral politics — had a stake in democracy, an independent judiciary, free elections and justice.

Meanwhile, PTI has revised the plan for its long march and issued the schedule for the next phase.

According to PTI K-P Secretary General Ali Asghar Khan, CM Afridi would lead the long march in each district as the “convoy is scheduled to arrive in Peshawar from Khyber tonight.”

“PTI said the march will reach Charsadda on October 9, Mardan on October 10 and Swabi on October 11, and the party will decide its next course of action after reaching Swabi,” he added.

The march began from Lakki Marwat on October 4 after talks between the PTI and the federal government failed to resolve their differences. The protest had initially been scheduled for September 27 but was postponed to October 4 as the two sides attempted to negotiate. The talks ultimately broke down, with counter-terrorism policy and meetings with party founder Imran Khan emerging as the main points of disagreement between the federal and opposition.