Afridi rejects emergency rule as PTI march heads to Karak

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi told PTI supporters at the start of the party’s long march on Sunday that he would not accept governor’s rule or an emergency in the province, as the caravan set off from Lakki Marwat and reached the Bannu-Karak border by evening.

“We neither accept governor’s rule nor an emergency,” Afridi told the crowd at Gandi Chowk, The Express Tribune reported. “Here, there is Imran Khan’s government and Imran Khan’s vision and policy will prevail.”

Afridi arrived in Lakki Marwat by helicopter. The PTI said the march had begun “in instalments”, and that its struggle would continue “until the release of all political prisoners, including Chairman Imran Khan”.

“Peace in 100 days”

Afridi said his government had given the Centre an “open policy” that could bring peace to the province within 100 days if implemented. “Their intention is not peace. Their intention is to eliminate PTI,” he said. He also rejected the possibility of another military operation in the province.

The caravan will reach Karak on Monday and Kohat on Tuesday. Afridi said that by the time it reached Swabi, millions would have joined. The party has not yet announced a plan for marching on Islamabad.

Why the talks broke down

The march began after two days of talks with the government and the PPP ended in deadlock at around 3am on Sunday. The two sides gave different accounts:

• PTI: the “principal point of the deadlock” was its demand for immediate access to Imran Khan so its leaders could consult him. The government agreed to restore family and lawyers’ meetings from Tuesday, but refused to include access to Imran in the agreement, the party said
• Medical care: the PTI wanted Imran moved to Shifa International Hospital and a medical board including his personal physician. This was not agreed
• Counterterrorism: PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said the government insisted that the province “own” actions it took unilaterally in KP

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the KP government had agreed to sign a written plan on counterterrorism within 72 hours, then backed out. “Security must not be politicised while the province is at war,” he said.

Ministers hit back

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar called the PTI’s demand for consultation a “lame old excuse” and a delaying tactic, and questioned why the KP government had not held its own apex committee meetings on terrorism, condemned the Afghan Taliban, or fully implemented the National Action Plan.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif accused Imran Khan of bringing terrorism to KP. “This terrorism was brought to K-P by their leader Imran. He was the biggest supporter of settling them in K-P,” he said.

Governor: “I alone will be enough”

KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi said an emergency could be imposed if necessary to “save the province”. “If emergency is imposed, I alone will be enough for them,” he said, claiming PTI workers were “hiding and getting themselves arrested”. “Let them cross Swabi first. It may take a month, but it will not happen,” he said.

Why it matters

The march is going ahead as terrorist attacks in KP rise and the Centre openly weighs emergency rule. With both sides blaming each other and no talks scheduled, the next few days will test the country’s political stability. Read our earlier report on the start of the march.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn and The Express Tribune.