{"id":10116,"date":"2026-08-09T08:46:04","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T08:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/?p=10116"},"modified":"2026-08-09T08:46:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T08:46:05","slug":"long-march-aim-is-access-to-pti-founder-not-his-release-sohail-afridi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/?p=10116","title":{"rendered":"Long March Aim Is Access to PTI Founder, Not His Release: Sohail Afridi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi says the September 27 long march will be personally led by him and will not be a one-day event, as protesters will not return after reaching Islamabad.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has said that the purpose of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf\u2019s (PTI) planned long march is not to secure the immediate release of the party\u2019s founder, Imran Khan, but to gain access to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an exclusive interview with Geo News programme Naya Pakistan<\/em>, Sohail Afridi said he would personally lead the long march scheduled for September 27<\/strong>. He emphasized that the demonstration would not be a one-day event and that participants would not simply travel to Islamabad and return home afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the chief minister, the protest is being planned as a sustained political campaign aimed at allowing PTI leaders and workers to reach and meet the party\u2019s founder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Objective Is Access, Not Release\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sohail Afridi clarified the purpose of the planned march, saying that PTI’s objective is not to secure Imran Khan\u2019s release through the protest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, he said, the primary objective is to gain access to the former prime minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He maintained that Imran Khan\u2019s release would take place according to the Constitution and the law. Therefore, the long march should not be viewed simply as a campaign demanding his immediate release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chief minister\u2019s comments suggest that PTI intends to focus its protest on political and legal access to its incarcerated leader rather than attempting to secure his release directly through street pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sohail Afridi to Personally Lead March<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister said he would personally lead the September 27 long march.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also made it clear that the demonstration would not be treated as a one-day political event. According to him, PTI workers and supporters would travel to Islamabad and would not immediately return after arriving in the federal capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will not come to Islamabad and return,\u201d he said, indicating that the protest could continue for an extended period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His statement points toward a potentially prolonged demonstration in Islamabad, depending on how the situation develops after the march reaches the capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The planned protest is expected to draw PTI supporters from different parts of the country. The party’s leadership has been discussing ways to mobilize workers and supporters for the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decision Taken After Consultation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sohail Afridi said the announcement of the long march was made after consultations with PTI leaders as well as representatives of the Tehreek Tahafuz-e-Aain Pakistan<\/strong>, or Movement for the Protection of the Constitution of Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He indicated that the decision was not taken individually but followed discussions among the relevant political leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also said that Aleema Khan<\/strong>, Imran Khan\u2019s sister, would participate in the movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her expected participation adds another prominent figure associated with Imran Khan to the planned campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why September 27 Was Chosen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister was also asked why the party had selected a date approximately one and a half months away instead of organizing the march immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explaining the decision, Sohail Afridi said that the September 27 date had been chosen because it would provide sufficient time for preparations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also pointed to weather conditions as another reason for selecting the date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to him, the additional time would allow the party and its supporters to prepare more effectively for the large-scale political activity while also taking weather conditions into consideration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extended preparation period could allow PTI to organize transportation, mobilization and other arrangements for participants expected to travel toward Islamabad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PTI\u2019s Continuing Political Campaign<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The planned long march comes amid continued political tensions surrounding PTI and its founder, Imran Khan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PTI has repeatedly raised concerns regarding access to its incarcerated leader and has continued political and legal efforts on his behalf. The party has also organized protests and demonstrations in the past over various political and legal issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The planned September 27 march therefore represents another major attempt by the party to mobilize its supporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sohail Afridi\u2019s statement that the march will not be a \u201cone-day event\u201d indicates that PTI may be preparing for a sustained presence in Islamabad rather than a brief demonstration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the precise duration and form of the protest will depend on developments at the time, as well as the response of the federal and local authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Focus on Legal and Constitutional Process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While announcing the march, Sohail Afridi maintained that the release of Imran Khan would ultimately be determined according to the Constitution and the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By distinguishing between \u201caccess\u201d and \u201crelease,\u201d he sought to clarify what the protest is intended to achieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chief minister’s comments suggest that PTI wants its leadership and supporters to be able to reach and communicate with Imran Khan, while leaving the question of his release to the legal and constitutional process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, September 27 remains the announced date for the long march. Sohail Afridi has confirmed that he will personally lead it and that PTI supporters will not simply return immediately after reaching Islamabad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With preparations expected to continue in the coming weeks, the march could become a significant political event, particularly if large numbers of PTI supporters participate and the planned demonstration continues for an extended period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi says the September 27 long march will be personally led by him and will not be a one-day event,..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/439673_5777132_updates-1.jpg",700,400,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/439673_5777132_updates-1-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/439673_5777132_updates-1-300x171.jpg",300,171,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/439673_5777132_updates-1.jpg",700,400,false],"large":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/439673_5777132_updates-1.jpg",700,400,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/439673_5777132_updates-1.jpg",700,400,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/paksouch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/439673_5777132_updates-1.jpg",700,400,false]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Pakistan<\/a>","tag_info":"Pakistan","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10116"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10118,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10116\/revisions\/10118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}