PTI long march reaches Kohat, heads for Peshawar

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) long march towards Islamabad reached Lachi tehsil in Kohat on Monday night, with participants staying there overnight before the convoy is scheduled to move towards Peshawar on Tuesday.

The march, led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, began from Lakki Marwat on October 4 after talks between the PTI and the federal government failed to resolve their differences. According to the party’s announced schedule, the convoy travelled through Karak before reaching Kohat, with Peshawar as the next major stop on the route.

The PTI says the protest aims mainly to secure the release of party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan and to ensure what it describes as his legal and basic rights in prison. The party has also raised concerns over access to Khan by his family and party leaders and has called for greater access to medical care. These are PTI’s claims and demands; the government has disputed aspects of the party’s account of Khan’s condition and prison arrangements.

Addressing supporters in Kohat, Afridi described the mobilisation as a sustained political struggle and urged supporters to maintain participation. He also reiterated his opposition to what he characterised as the federal government’s counterterrorism policy and said decisions affecting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should not be taken behind closed doors.

The immediate political backdrop to the march is the breakdown of negotiations between the PTI and the federal government. The two sides had been attempting to resolve differences before the planned mobilisation, but talks ended without agreement, with counterterrorism measures emerging as one of the central areas of disagreement.

The federal government, meanwhile, has opposed the march and said the protesters will not be allowed to enter Islamabad. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has defended the government’s position, while authorities have increased security around the capital and placed barriers on routes leading towards Islamabad.

The confrontation is already having consequences beyond the political arena. Reuters reported that authorities’ use of shipping containers as barricades has disrupted freight movement, with transport operators facing delays and additional costs as major routes towards the capital have been restricted.

The PTI’s planned route will take the convoy towards Peshawar and subsequently towards Khairabad, where the party has indicated that it will announce the next phase of the mobilisation. According to the schedule announced by Afridi, the caravans are expected to assemble at Khairabad on October 8.

The march therefore represents more than a single protest over Imran Khan’s imprisonment. It has emerged from a broader political dispute involving the PTI’s demands over Khan’s access and legal rights, the federal government’s security and counterterrorism concerns, and the unresolved relationship between the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration and the federal government.

For now, the two sides remain entrenched. The PTI is continuing its movement towards Islamabad, while the federal government is preparing to prevent the march from entering the capital. The next phase of the mobilisation, particularly the planned gathering at Khairabad on October 8, is likely to determine how the political confrontation develops.