Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday resumed PTI’s march, leading a convoy from from Karak to Kohat where the protesters will spend the night.
asserted
protesters → resume → night
The opposition has gone ahead with its march despite warnings from the Centre, which has vowed to prevent any gatherings in Islamabad.
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which → go → Islamabad
The protest aims to demand the release of jailed party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan.
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protest → aim → Khan
PTI decided to embark on the march after weekend talks with the federal government to bridge their differences failed for multiple reasons, particularly over the counterterrorism policy.
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talks → decide → policy
The Afridi-led convoy is aiming to reach Khairabad — which borders Punjab — by Oct 8, where the KP chief minister will announce the next plan of action.
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minister → lead → action
After reaching Kohat’s Lachi tehsil on Monday night, CM Afridi said while addressing PTI supporters that this time, the party’s struggle was a long one that required endurance and sustained mobilisation, according to a statement issued by his office.
“We must not exhaust ourselves.
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We → reach → ourselves
Our struggle is a long one,” he said, adding that however, Oct 8 onwards, a “T20 match” would begin.
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match → say → ?
CM Afridi called upon the people of Kohat to turn out in overwhelming numbers, saying that the district should not allow any other district to outpace it in terms of participation in the protest.
“The message must go out clearly: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa belongs to Imran Khan, has belonged to Imran Khan, and will remain with Imran Khan,” the chief minister said.
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minister → call → Khan
The combined strength of the entire world cannot put a price on me, nor can it intimidate me,” he added.
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he → combine → me
He said the convoy would set out for Peshawar from University Chowk at 3pm.
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convoy → say → 3
Earlier in the day, Afridi also addressed PTI supporters in Karak, where the protesters arrived on Sunday night, railing against the Centre’s counterterrorism policy and criticising past military operations and drone attacks.
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protesters → address → operations
He also referred to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s remarks from a day earlier, wherein the latter called him “immature”.
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latter → refer → him
He went on to recall Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz’s remarks on the terrorism threat to her province, adding: “Suppose, I say that [my province] does not have a threat from India, but from the other three provinces, will you consider me mature?”
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me → go → provinces
The KP chief minister said, “If you deem it immature to speak about one’s province and people, then I have shown this immaturity yesterday, still do and will keep doing so.”
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I → say → immaturity
He contended that “wrong policies drafted behind closed doors were impacting all institutions”.
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policies → contend → institutions
Expressing his patriotism for Pakistan, he said, “We also chant Pakistan zindabad; we stand up for the national anthem as well.”
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we → express → anthem
But he added that future generations might not do so as there were attempts to “divide Pakistan and spread hatred”.
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generations → add → hatred
Insisting that his party was democratically presenting the public’s demands, Afridi warned that if the situation crossed all limits, neither would he be able to control the public “nor will anyone’s father have the courage” to do so.
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father → insist → courage
He asserted that only those policies would be implemented that the people and the youth desire, and which were in the interests of the nation.
“We will not accept any decision taken behind closed doors that is against us, our province or Pakistan,” the chief minister added.
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minister → assert → us
He argued that Imran could secure his release if he wanted but was choosing to remain behind bars for the nation’s “freedom”.
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he → argue → freedom
“He is free even in jail, and we are slaves even when free,” he quipped.
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he → quip → jail
The chief minister urged people to reach Swabi, adding that no one could even imagine or think of the next plan of action.
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one → urge → action
Earlier, Afridi’s focal person for digital media Yar Muhammad Khan Niazi shared a video on X of PTI supporters welcoming the KP CM at Karak’s Jail Chowk.
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supporters → share → Chowk
According to a post by CM Afridi, the people of Karak were to join the convoy at 12pm, with the departure set for 12:30pm, which faced a delay.
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which → accord → delay
The convoy plans to stay overnight in Kohat, and then resume the journey towards Peshawar at noon on Oct 6.
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convoy → plan → Oct
It will spend the night near Mattani.
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It → spend → Mattani
On the afternoon of Oct 7, the caravan will depart from Budh Bair in Peshawar and spend the night near Charsadda Interchange.
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caravan → depart → Interchange
The protesters will then move forward the next afternoon and spend the night of Oct 8 at Khairabad.
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protesters → move → Khairabad
Notably, the KP CM has refrained from detailing the final leg of the trip to the federal capital and said the plan for the next phase would be announced at Khairabad.
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plan → refrain → Khairabad
The march so far
After launching the already-postponed march from Lakki Marwat on Sunday afternoon, the KP CM’s caravan reached Karak at night, where Afridi addressed supporters at Jail Chowk.
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Afridi → launch → Chowk
Ahead of the march, movement on several roads in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan, Upper and Lower South Waziristan, Tank and Hangu was restricted under Section 144 for varying periods.
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movement → restrict → periods
On Monday, former KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur, who was leading PTI workers from DI Khan to Lakki Marwat, took a U-turn from Yarik because of road blockades and the prevailing law and order situation.
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who → lead → blockades
Noting that Section 144 had been imposed in the area for three days, Gandapur stressed that the party leadership had clearly directed workers not to damage public property or engage in any activity that could worsen the situation.
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that → note → situation
Nevertheless, he contended that the return should not be viewed as a withdrawal from the protest movement, but as a temporary decision.
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return → contend → decision
In Karachi, a planned protest campaign in different areas was disrupted after police deployed personnel at several locations, blocked roads and detained several party workers and leaders.
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police → plan → workers
The PTI claimed that police detained more than 75 of its leaders and workers, including women, from different parts of Karachi.
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police → claim → Karachi
It further alleged that arrests made in other parts of Sindh, including Sukkur, put the total number of detained PTI workers across the province at more than 100.
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arrests → allege → 100
On Saturday night, an opposition delegation comprising PTI and Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP), and a joint team of the government and PPP held hours-long negotiations, which ended in a deadlock.
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which → comprise → deadlock
While the federal government blamed CM Afridi for the failure of negotiations, PTI denied the allegations and claimed that access to Imran, his medical treatment and the federal government’s counterterrorism policy were the key reasons.
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access → blame → Imran
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”.
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access → accord → agreement
The Aporia
