PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was leading PTI protesters to Charsadda from Peshawar on sixth day of the party’s protest march that is being carried out to demand the release of jailed PTI founder Imran Khan.

The route plan for the march has undergone multiple changes since its launch on Oct 4. While the party initially vowed to march towards Islamabad, its final destination seemingly remains tentative as the KP CM has yet to announce the plan for the trek after Oct 11, beyond Swabi.

On the way to Charsadda, CM Afridi briefly addressed participants and told them not to worry as “we have to go elsewhere as well after Swabi”.

So far, the march has remained within KP, where the PTI is in power.

The PTI march began after weekend talks with the federal government failed to bridge their differences for multiple reasons, particularly over the counterterrorism policy. The federal ministers have warned the PTI not to lead the march beyond KP, and are also linking differences over the counterterrorism policy with the possibility of an emergency or governor’s rule in KP.

Afridi termed the federal government’s warnings “empty threats” and told the march participants that it “cannot harm the workers after they will cross the province’s boundary”.

Kundi’s challenge

Earlier in the day, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi challenged PTI protesters to dare and cross Swabi, a KP district that borders Punjab’s Attock and which the opposition party in the Centre has announced as the eventual destination of its long march..

Kundi raised doubt on the realisation of the PTI’s plan to reach Swabi on Oct 11.

“They are probably going to Charsadda today, then they might go to Mardan, and after that they might end up reaching Afghanistan through Dir,” he said while addressing a press conference in Peshawar. “Because whenever they turn towards Swabi, their legs start shaking, and their hearts tremble […] If they have any self-respect, reach Swabi tomorrow and cross it, or even step inside it. I will accept that you are a revolutionary party that aims to make a naya (new) Pakistan.”

Continuing to rail against the party, he said senior PTI leaders were “sitting in drawing rooms” in Islamabad while others were in “hiding”.

“They say that they have run successful mobilisation campaigns across Sindh and Punjab; did you see anyone from these provinces on their long march’s truck?” he questioned.

Reacting to the PTI’s claims that KP lawmakers and cabinet members were being “abducted”, Kundi said: “You (KP CM Afridi) should tell who is abducting your ministers as you are the chief executive of the province.

“You cannot protect your ministers, MPAs, and MNAs; how will you protect my people, the province and the nation? This is your position.”

Kundi added that the KP CM and his cabinet should resign on “ethical grounds”.

“They say that the SHOs do not listen to them; if no one listens to you, then why are you sitting [in the government]? Only to make money or for corruption,” he remarked, adding that presently, doctors, teachers, nurses, and municipal officers were observing strikes in KP.

The KP governor vowed that “we will protect our province and fight against terrorism on the front line. We will show such incompetent people […] how a province is run.”

Answering a question, Kundi contended that no province could run without the Centre. “But these people talk about confrontation with the federal government,” he said.

On the possibility of governor’s rule or an emergency in KP, the governor said that when the president or the prime minister deems that the situation in the province has worsened to the extent that these options should be availed, they would make a decision.

“Whenever the federal government will seek report on province’s situation; we will provide as per the information we have,” he added.

In response to another question, Kundi took a jibe at the PTI, saying the party had turned its long march into “Lucky Irani Circus, travelling from city to city […] But whenever they turn to Swabi, they opt to take a U-turn”.

He also commented on his recent meeting with KP’s chief secretary and inspector general (IG) to discuss the province’s law and order situation.

The KP CM has taken strong exception to the meeting and called for legislation to provide for the governor’s impeachment for “violating the Constitution”.

Kundi defended the meeting, saying: “I called the chief secretary and IG because we have no government on the ground in the province; they are busy in their circus.”

“My province is burning,” he continued, citing recent incidents of terrorism in KP.

“They (PTI) have never condemned terrorism. They cannot challenge the terrorists […] They don’t have any plan to fight terrorism,” he claimed.

He added that “terrorism is our red line,”, adding, “We cannot hand over this province to terrorists. This is our point agenda […] we will first talk about terrorism, and other things will follow.”