PESHAWAR: The provincial committee of Qaumi Amn Jirga has announced to march on Islamabad on August 23 to oppose military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Following a second meeting of the committee at Bacha Khan Markaz here on Wednesday, Awami National Party provincial president Milan Iftikhar Hussain told a press conference that Aug 23 was fixed for the march with consensus of political parties and civil society organisations.

Mr Hussain, also provincial head of Qaumi Amn Jirga, said that the participants of peace march would carry white flags with them. The scheduled march, he said, was aimed at conveying the message that Pakhtuns always advocated peace and would stand against any force that ever tried to plunge the region into bloodshed again.

The workers of all political parties and civil society organisations have been asked to reach Swabi interchange till 10am on Aug 23. The march is meant to demand peace in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In order to make the march a success, consultative meetings will be held with political leaders, tribal elders and civil society representatives through a regular campaign from July 30 to August 20. The district level political alliances will be activated to ensure success of the march.

In the areas where alliances don’t exist, ANP district presidents will organise multi-party conferences to form united fronts. The march represents the collective conscience and awakening of Pakhtuns.

The representatives of various parties attended the meeting. They include Pakistan Peoples Party provincial president Syed Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha, Pakhtunkhwa National Awami Party’s Advocate Haider Momand, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz representative Khizer Hayat, Pakistan Mazdoor Kisan Party provincial president Adil Mahmood.

Jamaat-i-Islami was represented by former MNA Syed Bakhtiar Maani, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl by Maulana Abdul Jalil Jan. Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party was represented by Mohammad Humayun and National Democratic Movement by Jamal Dawar.

Similarly, Qaumi Watan Party was represented by Tariq Ahmad Khan and Awami Workers Party was represented by Engineer Haider Zaman Akhunzada.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2025