• Afridi says struggle requires sustained mobilisation
• Reiterates opposition to Centre’s counterterrorism policy
• Marchers will head to Peshawar today

PESHAWAR: The PTI march on Monday night reached Lachi tehsil of Kohat, where Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi addressed charged party workers, saying that “this time their struggle was a long one and required endurance and sustained mobilisation”.

“We must not exhaust ourselves. Our struggle is a long one. From October 8, the T20 match begins,” he said as the protest march arrived in Lachi tehsil, where the participants were to stay overnight. The march will leave for Peshawar on Tuesday (today), with the next overnight stay scheduled in the Mattani area on the outskirts of Peshawar.

He called upon the people of Kohat to turn out in overwhelming numbers, saying the district should not allow any other district to outpace it in participation.

“The message must go out clearly: KP belongs to Imran Khan, has belonged to Imran Khan, and will remain with Imran Khan,” the chief minister said.

He announced that the march towards Peshawar would set off from University Chowk at 3pm.

Earlier in the day, the KP CM resumed the PTI’s march as he addressed supporters in Karak, from where his convoy departed for Kohat.

PTI decided to embark on the march after weekend talks with the federal government to bridge their differences failed for multiple reasons, particularly over counterterrorism policy.

Addressing party supporters at Karak’s Jail Chowk in the afternoon, the chief minister again railed against the Centre’s counterterrorism policy and criticised past military operations and drone attacks.

Mr Afridi also referred to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s remarks a day earlier, in which the latter had called him “immature”. He went on to recall Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s remarks on the terrorism threat to her province, adding: “Suppose, I say that [my province] does not have a threat from India, but from the other three provinces, will you consider me mature?”

The KP chief minister said, “If you deem it immature to speak about one’s province and people, then I have shown this immaturity yesterday, still do and will keep doing so.”

Expressing his patriotism for Pakistan, the PTI leader said, “We also chant Pakistan zindabad, we stand up for the national anthem as well.” But he added that future generations might not do so as there were attempts to “divide Pakistan and spread hatred”.

Insisting that his party was democratically presenting the public’s demands, Mr Afridi warned that if the situation crossed all limits, neither would he be able to control the public “nor will anyone’s father have the courage” to do so.

He asserted that only those policies would be implemented that the people and the youth desired and that were in the interests of the nation.

“We will not accept any decision taken behind closed doors that is against us, our province or Pakistan,” the KP chief minister added.

He argued that Imran could secure his release if he wanted but was choosing to remain behind bars for the nation’s “freedom”. “He is free even in jail, and we are slaves even when free,” he quipped.

The chief minister urged people to reach Swabi, adding that no one could even imagine or think of the next plan of action.

According to Mr Afridi’s digital media focal person, the convoy will leave Kohat for Peshawar on Oct 6, stay near Mattani, and proceed via Charsadda Interchange to Khairabad by October 8.

On Monday, former KP chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who was leading PTI workers from DI Khan to Lakki Marwat, took a U-turn at Yarik because of road blockades and the prevailing law and order situation. Noting that Section 144 had been imposed in the area for three days, Mr Gandapur stressed that the party leadership had clearly directed workers not to damage public property or engage in any activity that could worsen the situation.

Meanwhile, in Karachi, a planned protest campaign in different areas was disrupted after police deployed personnel at several locations, blocked roads and detained several party workers and leaders.

Ghulam Mursaleen from Lakki Marwat and Irfan Mughul from Dera Ismail Khan also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2026