ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Shafi Jan said the party has no option left but to launch a long march with an ultimate goal of party founder Imran Khan’s release, announcing that it will head from Peshawar to Islamabad with two million people.
Speaking on Geo News programme “Naya Pakistan,” Jan said PTI workers are protesting because “nobody is listening to us”, adding that the long march was their “last option”.
“We will leave Peshawar with two million people,” he said, adding that the impact of the march would be felt across the country.
Jan’s comments, however, contrasted with those of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who said the purpose of the PTI long march would not be Imran’s release but access to the party founder.
“Imran Khan’s release would take place in accordance with the Constitution and law, while the immediate objective of the march is to secure access to him,” the CM told Naya Pakistan a day earlier.
Imran, 73, has remained in prison since August 2023 following convictions he and his party describe as politically motivated.
Since his ouster in April 2022 through a no-confidence vote, he has faced multiple legal cases, including allegations relating to state gifts and an unlawful marriage case.
While some convictions have been suspended or overturned, several appeals remain pending before higher courts. Imran and his party continue to deny all allegations of wrongdoing.
Jan stressed that the party would stage a peaceful protest within the framework of the law and Constitution.
He said that Imran’s sisters were not being allowed to meet him and claimed that meetings with the former prime minister had been stopped for the past nine months.
“The meetings with the PTI founder will have to be restored,” he said.
Jan said the party had announced the long march because there was no other way forward. He called on all PTI workers to unite by September 27, saying the movement was aimed at securing Imran’s release.
According to Jan, the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) agrees with PTI and will participate in the long march on September 27.
He also said PTI is in full contact with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), while other political parties would also join the protest.
Jan said former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur would also be with them, describing him as part of PTI.
