PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi led the main caravan of Imran Khan supporters out of Lakki Marwat on Sunday for the first day of the PTI’s long march toward Islamabad, as police erected roadblocks along the route and a second convoy turned back.
Afridi arrived by helicopter at Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat, where thousands of supporters had gathered, addressed the crowd and set out toward Karak, where the march halted for the night, according to Pakistani media reports. Convoys from Tank, Bannu and the Waziristan districts were expected to join along the route.
A separate convoy led by former chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur turned back at Yarik Toll Plaza in Dera Ismail Khan after police blocked the route with barriers, Gandapur said, citing Section 144 restrictions imposed for three days and the risk to workers. “We cannot put our workers at risk,” he said, urging participants to keep the movement peaceful and avoid vandalism or clashes with law enforcement.
Authorities have imposed Section 144 across several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, restricting movement along march routes. The federal government has warned that protesters will not be allowed to enter Islamabad and has kept container blockades at the capital’s entrances.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi blamed Afridi for the collapse of weekend negotiations, warning he would be held responsible for any loss of life during the march. The government urged the PTI to postpone, citing a surge in militant attacks by the Pakistani Taliban in the northwest, and has accused the party of sympathizing with the group — a charge the PTI rejects.
The protesters demand Khan’s release or transfer to a hospital and permission for family visits. Officials say the 73-year-old former prime minister is in good health and receives regular family visits. Khan, ousted in a 2022 no-confidence vote, has been jailed since 2023 on charges he says are politically motivated.
