Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday said PTI’s political leadership and its ally, the Tehreek Tahaffuz-i-Ayeen Pakistan (TTAP), were on board with the call for a long march to Islamabad on September 27.

Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Capital Talk’, CM Afridi said, “The PTI’s political leadership across the country and its ally, the TTAP, are all on board with the long march, and they collectively agreed on September 27 as the date for it.”

Responding to a question about Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan’s reservations over the date, he said she was a “non-political individual” and would agree to the date once the PTI apprised her of all the facts and figures.

CM Afridi also denied allegations by a PTI member currently residing outside Pakistan that he had met Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi before finalising the date for the long march.

“That allegation was rubbish. At the time of the alleged meeting, I was at KP House in Islamabad, contrary to the claim that I had met him in Peshawar,” he said.

In response to a question, CM Afridi also rejected the impression of a communication gap between the party’s leadership and workers.

Talking about the ‘D-Chowk, D-Chowk’ slogans during the recent Peshawar rally, he said institutions that were not granting political space to the PTI should understand that the party’s leadership had taken on a great burden by seeking to resolve issues through mutual understanding.

“However, not just in KP but across Pakistan, particularly the youth, no one will be able to contain them when they come out on Sept 27, because I can see passion and a ray of light in their eyes,” the chief minister said.

During the interview, the KP chief minister also criticised the federal government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for economic inefficiency and bad governance.

He said that if he met the PTI founder at Adiala jail and was instructed to defer the Sept 27 date for the long march, he would agree.

CM Afridi added that he would also follow Imran’s instructions if asked to pave the way for talks.

At the outset of his interview, Afridi said the PTI had no option but to protest as its grievances were not being heard by the authorities.

“People say that the PTI does politics of chaos, unrest and protests; however, it would not have resorted to these if it had been heard by the authorities.”

He claimed Imran had been jailed unlawfully. “The PTI founder is in solitary confinement and denied his rights. No one is allowed to meet him — not me, his family, lawyers or personal physicians.”

After exhausting all constitutional and legal means, he said, the PTI had no other option but to protest.

“We are holding a peaceful protest. The Constitution allows us to do so, so the authorities will have to hear us.”

He reiterated that the PTI wanted justice for its founder and wanted his cases to be heard on merit, with access to his personal doctors and quality medical treatment.

He further claimed that the KP police had faced interference from the federal government and other institutions.

The chief minister also distanced the provincial government from cases registered against journalists in KP, saying it would never allow such actions.

On a proposal to create new provinces in Pakistan, CM Afridi said it was the PTI founder’s vision to establish new administrative units across the country.

“But the question is: who will create them? Only a government with a mandate can do so,” he said, adding, “We support the call for creating new administrative units, but only through a government brought to power by the people.”

Imran — imprisoned since Aug 5, 2023 — is serving a 14-year sentence at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail in the £190m case, also known as the Al-Qadir Trust case.

An accountability court in Islamabad had sentenced Imran and Bushra to 14 and seven years in prison, respectively, on Jan 17, 2025, in the case. Subsequently, both had challenged their convictions before the IHC.

The case alleges that the couple obtained billions of rupees and land worth hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town Ltd to legalise Rs50 billion identified and returned to the country by the United Kingdom during the PTI government.