ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said on Tuesday that the party’s long march would continue and that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi would remain in his post. Earlier today the party’s KP information secretary Shaukat Yusufzai urged him to call off the march over fears the federal government could use it as a pretext to impose emergency rule in the province.
Gohar rejects call to postpone march
Speaking to reporters, Gohar said the party leadership had received no instructions indicating a change in KP’s leadership. “We have received no instructions; the united opposition is with us,” he said, adding that Afridi enjoyed the backing of PTI founder Imran Khan. “Sohail Afridi will remain chief minister; he has the support of the PTI founder,” Gohar said.
On the march itself, he was unequivocal: “Our long march stands.” He said the party had “always taken the opposition alliance into confidence on the long march, and will continue to do so,” and that PTI kept its allies informed of its plans. “We have always taken our allies into confidence. Whatever we do, we keep our allies informed,” he said.
TTAP delegation visits PPP secretariat, invites party to All Parties Conference
A delegation from Tehreek Tahaffuz-e-Aiin Pakistan (TTAP) visited the Pakistan Peoples Party’s central secretariat and met Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, secretary general of the Pakistan Peoples Parliamentarians, formally inviting PPP to participate in an upcoming All Parties Conference.
The delegation included PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Senator Allama Nasir Abbas, Senator Zeeshan Akhunzada and TTAP spokesperson Akhunzada Hussain Yousafzai. During the meeting, the delegation briefed Bokhari on the objectives of the conference and extended a formal invitation for PPP’s participation.
Bokhari welcomed the delegation and said the invitation would be conveyed to PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, adding that whatever position Bilawal took on the matter would be communicated back to the TTAP delegation. The two sides also discussed the country’s political situation, the supremacy of the Constitution, the stability of democratic institutions and contacts between political parties, among other matters. Bokhari said PPP considered contact and consultation with political parties on constitutional and democratic issues important.
Shaukat Yousafzai’s warning
PTI’s KP information secretary, Yousafzai, wrote to him warning that the federal government intended to impose emergency rule in the province. In the letter, he said the government could cite a possible attack on Pakistan from Afghanistan as one justification, noting that “Afghan forces are advancing toward Pakistan’s border,” according to anchor Najam Sethi’s remarks on his programme, and could separately place responsibility for a recent rise in terrorism in KP on the provincial government. He wrote that Sohail Afridi was “allegedly being portrayed as a facilitator of terrorists,” calling it “an extremely dangerous development.”
Yousafzai wrote that he believed the federal government had been “rattled” by the long march and “is bent on dissolving the provincial government” as a result, with support for terrorism as the underlying allegation, one that he said could carry provisions for “a ban on political activity” or “even a ban on the party itself.”
He proposed that the party “immediately postpone the long march in the country’s wider interest” and stand behind “the slogan of national defence,” while making clear the party’s demands were “genuine” and not being abandoned. “No responsible political party makes decisions under pressure,” he wrote, citing Imran Khan’s earlier decision to end a long march upon reaching Islamabad, citing the safety of party workers, as precedent. Yousafzai said PTI faced two paths: to “collide with the state” and risk both the provincial government and workers’ lives, or to pursue negotiations and “build a good narrative” to exit the situation, adding that “our workers are most precious to us” and that the final call rested with Gohar.
Opposition alliance, PPP talks
Gohar said the broader opposition alliance, which includes several parties, remained united behind PTI, and that the Pakistan Peoples Party had engaged with the alliance “as the opposition.” He said PTI had “put forward several proposals” to the PPP and expected “a positive response from the PPP within a day or two.”
Democracy and provincial autonomy
Gohar also stated that political parties had “an important role” to play in strengthening democracy, and that “this country’s destiny is strong democracy.” He said “provincial autonomy should be in accordance with the Constitution,” and pointed to unspecified developments he said were “a cause for concern” that needed to be addressed, adding that efforts were under way toward convening an All Parties Conference.
On the economy, he said all political parties needed to work together “to free the public from inflation,” and that certain measures were necessary “for the country, for security and for political stability.”
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