Govt rules out yielding to pressure as PTI says only Imran can call off long march

The government on Wednesday said it would not yield to pressure or accept demands by “holding the state hostage”, while PTI maintained that its long march would continue and only Imran Khan could decide when to call it off.

“I want to say this clearly today that no demand can be accepted by holding the state hostage or pursuing the path of political instability,” said Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.

He urged the PTI to set aside what he described as its politics of instability and prioritise the national interest by resolving differences through dialogue.

Sanaullah said the government remained willing to hold talks but warned that political demands could not be accepted through pressure tactics.

“They should renounce political instability and not give priority to their personal political agenda over the national interest. They should sit for talks and resolve these issues through negotiations. However, despite our desire for talks, under no circumstances should they try to hold the state hostage to have their political demands accepted. This tactic will not be allowed,” he added.

The adviser also accused PTI of introducing a culture of political intolerance, instability and abusive rhetoric into national politics since 2011.

“Unfortunately, PTI has remained successful, to some extent, in both of these objectives,” Sanaullah said.

He argued that political tolerance, which he described as once being a hallmark of Pakistani politics, had been replaced by a culture of abusive and below-the-belt political discourse.

Sanaullah said the trend remained visible in traditional and social media and had also affected the atmosphere surrounding the government’s recent negotiations with PTI.

He further accused PTI of pursuing a consistent agenda of political instability since its 2014 protest in Islamabad.

“Political instability began in 2014 and now 12 years have passed. PTI, as a political party, has consistently carried forward this agenda,” he said.

Referring to PTI’s 126-day sit-in in Islamabad in 2014, Sanaullah said: “Since then, laying siege to Islamabad has remained one of PTI’s strong points.”

The adviser added that the Khyber-Pakhunkhwa (K-P) government was using all its resources for its agenda. He argued that over the past two years, they were used generally, over the past two months they were used specifically, and now, over the past three days the resources were being used particularly.

Sanaullah also accused the K-P government of overlooking martyrs, asking whether the martyred Customs officials or police personnel belonged to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz or if they were residents of some other province. "They were people of K-P, residents of K-P," he said. He further argued that a "big portion" of those martyred in K-P belonged to the province itself; including civilians, armed forces, and those of the law-enforcing agencies.

"The day before, on one side there lay the bodies of the martyrs, and on the other side, the entire provincial government, while beating drums and chanting slogans, was provoking people to come together," Sanaullah said. "This is the attitude of the K-P government, this attitude can not be tolerated in any way," he added.

Discussing the PTI's convoy, the adviser also claimed that "they have not been able to gather more than a few thousand in any area they have gone."

According to Sanaullah, "giving priority to your personal, political agenda over national interests, no way is permitted consitutionally, lawfulfully, or in regard to political ethics." He added this was made clear to the K-P government, however, Sanuallah claimed "they say is that this isn't my agenda, governing or working for the people's well-being and welfare, it is not my agenda. My agenda is different."

Earlier in a statement, PTI K-P spokesperson Shaukat Yousafzai, rejected threats of governor’s rule in the province, saying the march would not end under pressure and that only jailed PTI founder Imran Khan could decide its fate.

The long march, which is being headed by K-P CM Sohail Afridi, announced a change in the route, saying the march would first head towards Khyber and then proceed to Peshawar. The march is set to begin from the suburban area of Mattani before heading towards Khyber, where the participants would camp for the night.

Yousafzai criticised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s repeated offers of dialogue, saying the government should move beyond public statements and address the opposition’s demands.

“Prime minister, do not just play the negotiations game in the media. If you have the authority, accept the opposition’s legitimate demands,” he said.

Yousafzai urged the government to respect decisions of the high courts and Supreme Court and reiterated that PTI would not withdraw its demands concerning party leader.

“We will not back down from our demands for a meeting with Imran and his transfer to hospital,” he said.

He also called for the release of imprisoned women, including Imran's sisters.

He also questioned K-P Governor Faisal Karim Kundi’s authority to summon the provincial chief secretary and inspector general of police to a meeting.

“Kundi has exceeded his authority. After the 18th Amendment, the governor does not even have the authority to crack a walnut,” he said.

The PTI spokesperson defended CM Afridi amid criticism from federal government figures, saying he regretted what he described as negative propaganda against the chief minister.

Turning to the security situation in K-P, Yousafzai said terrorism could not be addressed by undermining the province’s electoral mandate.

He called on the federal government to bring all stakeholders together to formulate a strategy against terrorism.

“All problems will be resolved through negotiations,” he added.

Meanwhile, K-P police spokesman Alam Khan said that Police had prepared a security plan from Peshawar to Nowshera amid security concerns, with drone cameras to be used to monitor the long march.

"Security arrangements have been divided into three categories, with three SPs assigned responsibility for security in the city, suburban areas and along Ring Road," he added.

Khan said that around 300 personnel would be deployed along the march and its routes, while the City Patrol Force unit would also remain deployed at Peshawar’s entry and exit points.

The change in route was announced by K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Tuesday as the march reached its third day. Afridi said the PTI had originally planned to head towards Peshawar but would now first proceed towards Khyber before returning to the provincial capital.

Afridi said the route had been changed as part of the PTI's strategy, without giving further details about the reason for the change.

Read: PTI marchers change route, head to Khyber first

The march had reached Kohat on Monday after beginning from Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat on Sunday. Caravans from Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, South Waziristan, North Waziristan, Bannu and Lakki Marwat had joined the procession at the starting point before it moved towards Karak for an overnight stay.

On the second day, the caravan moved from Karak towards Kohat, with participants from Karak joining the procession. Afridi addressed participants in Kohat and announced that the march would resume its journey towards Peshawar from University Chowk on Tuesday.

On the third day, caravans from Kohat, Hangu, Kurram and Orakzai joined the procession. The march was initially scheduled to travel from Kohat towards Peshawar and stay overnight near Mattani.

Under the original schedule announced by Afridi, the caravan was due to depart from Budh Bair in Peshawar on Wednesday, with participants from Khyber district joining the march there. Other Peshawar constituencies were scheduled to join at Kohat Road Bridge and the Motorway Toll Plaza before the procession moved towards the Charsadda interchange.

The march was then scheduled to move from the Charsadda interchange towards Khairabad on October 8, with participants from Charsadda and Mohmand joining the caravan. The next phase of the march was to be announced at Khairabad.