PTI divided over Sept 27 long march

Central leaders say not consulted on Islamabad march

LAHORE:

The PTI was not taken into confidence before the announcement of a long march towards Islamabad on September 27, the party's central information secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram confirmed on Sunday, contradicting K-P Information Minister Shafi Jan's claim that the decision was taken in consultation with the party and its allies.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced a long march towards Islamabad at a rally in Peshawar on August 5, declaring that, according to his team, the march would continue until its objectives were achieved.

The announcement, however, appeared to catch even some party leaders off guard, with several of them expressing complete ignorance about the plan when approached immediately afterwards.

It was also learnt that the local PTI chapter in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is opposed to the proposed long march, with the hashtag "27 September Long March Na Manzoor (unacceptable)" being pushed on social media.

Apparently responding to questions over the choice of Sept 27 as the date for the march, K-P Information Minister Shafi Jan said on social media that the decision to march towards Islamabad on that date had been taken through mutual consultation between the party and its allies.

He further said PTI wanted to move forward with its allies and was also in contact with religious parties.

He claimed that the Islamabad march would not be limited to a single day and could continue for several days.

Seeking to dispel the impression that the announcement was half-hearted, he said the party would head towards Islamabad with full preparations to secure the basic rights of PTI founder and former prime minister Imran Khan.

"The doors of PTI are open to political parties against the current federal government; if the Peoples Party wants to break free from the government, it should leave its constitutional office and join the opposition; mandate-thieving rulers will now have to answer in the people's court," Shafi wrote.

A senior party leader, however, said that from the campaign for Imran Khan's release to the latest long march announcement, Sohail Afridi had often made such announcements in the heat of the movement and discussed them with the party leadership afterwards.

He said PTI had not been consulted at any level and that no one knew what the K-P chief minister was planning.

He added that close aides of the chief minister were trying to put the responsibility for the Sept 27 announcement on the party, but "that's a lie" because the party had no prior knowledge of it.

When asked whether the party had been taken into confidence, PTI Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said that, on Imran Khan's instructions, K-P CM Sohail Afridi was in charge of the street movement and could take decisions at his own discretion.