Summary KP CM Afridi resumes PTI march amid deadlocked talks, road blockades and arrests as convoy follows planned route towards Islamabad.
KARAK (Web Desk) - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday resumed PTI's march, addressing supporters at Jail Chowk in Karak before his convoy's planned departure for Kohat.
The opposition has proceeded with the march despite warnings from the federal government, which has vowed to prevent gatherings in Islamabad. The protest is aimed at demanding the release of PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan.
PTI decided to launch the march after weekend talks with the federal government failed to bridge their differences. The talks broke down over several issues, particularly the federal government's counterterrorism policy.
Addressing supporters, Afridi again criticised the Centre's counterterrorism policy and questioned past military operations and drone attacks.
The KP chief minister also responded to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi's remarks a day earlier, when Naqvi described him as "immature".
Referring to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz's remarks about the terrorism threat to Punjab, Afridi said: "Suppose, I say that [my province] does not have a threat from India, but from the other three provinces, will you consider me mature?"
He added that if speaking about one's province and its people was considered immature, then he had demonstrated this "immaturity" the previous day, was still doing so and would continue to do so.
Afridi contended that "wrong policies drafted behind closed doors were impacting all institutions".
Expressing his patriotism for Pakistan, the PTI leader said, "We also chant Pakistan zindabad, we stand up for the national anthem as well."
However, he warned that future generations might not do the same because of attempts to "divide Pakistan and spread hatred".
Insisting that his party was democratically presenting public demands, Afridi warned that if the situation crossed all limits, neither he nor anyone else would be able to control the public.
He asserted that only policies desired by the people and youth and those in the national interest would be implemented.
"We will not accept any decision taken behind closed doors that is against us, our province or Pakistan," the KP chief minister said.
Afridi said Imran Khan 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 said.
The chief minister urged people to reach Swabi, adding that no one could imagine or predict the party's next plan of action.
Earlier, Afridi's focal person for digital media, Yar Muhammad Khan Niazi, shared a video on X showing PTI supporters welcoming the KP chief minister at Karak's Jail Chowk.
According to Afridi's earlier post, people from Karak were scheduled to join the convoy at noon, with departure planned for 12:30pm, but the departure was delayed.
— Yar Muhammad Khan Niazi (@YarMKNiazi) October 5, 2026
The convoy is scheduled to spend the night in Kohat before resuming its journey towards Peshawar at noon on October 6. It will spend the night near Mattani.
On the afternoon of October 7, the caravan is scheduled to depart from Budh Bair in Peshawar and spend the night near Charsadda Interchange.
The protesters will then move forward the following afternoon and spend the night of October 8 at Khairabad.
Afridi has not disclosed the final leg of the journey to the federal capital, saying the plan for the next phase will be announced at Khairabad.
The march so far
After launching the already-postponed march from Lakki Marwat on Sunday afternoon, the KP chief minister's caravan reached Karak at night, where Afridi addressed supporters at Jail Chowk.
Ahead of the march, movement on several roads in Dera Ismail Khan, Upper and Lower South Waziristan, Tank and Hangu was restricted under Section 144 for varying periods.
On Monday, former KP chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who was leading PTI workers from Dera Ismail Khan to Lakki Marwat, took a U-turn from Yarik because of road blockades and the prevailing law and order situation.
Gandapur noted that Section 144 had been imposed in the area for three days and said party leadership had clearly directed workers not to damage public property or engage in activities that could worsen the situation.
However, he said the return should not be viewed as a withdrawal from the protest movement but as a temporary decision.
In Karachi, a planned PTI protest campaign in different areas was disrupted after police deployed personnel at several locations, blocked roads and detained party workers and leaders.
PTI claimed that police detained more than 75 of its leaders and workers, including women, from different parts of Karachi. It further alleged that arrests in other parts of Sindh, including Sukkur, took the total number of detained PTI workers across the province to more than 100.
On Saturday night, an opposition delegation comprising PTI and Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP), along with a joint government and PPP team, held hours-long negotiations that ended in a deadlock.
The federal government blamed CM Afridi for the failure of the negotiations, while PTI denied the allegation.
PTI claimed that access to Imran Khan, his medical treatment and the federal government's counterterrorism policy were the key reasons for the deadlock.
According to PTI, the government agreed to restore meetings between Imran and his family members and lawyers from Tuesday, but "declined to make access to Imran Khan part of the proposed agreement".
