PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistan’s opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, revised its long-march plans on Thursday, announcing a district-by-district advance through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after its convoy from Khyber district reached Peshawar on Thursday night.
PTI General Secretary Ali Asghar Khan said the march would move through the province with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi leading the convoy in each district. According to the party’s announced schedule, reported by The COW News, the convoy will reach Charsadda on Friday, Oct. 9, then Mardan on Oct. 10 and Swabi on Oct. 11. The party leadership will decide the next phase after Swabi, Khan said.
The march began Sunday, Oct. 4, from Lakki Marwat — a week later than originally planned — after weekend talks between the government and PTI collapsed. The discussions broke down over access to imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan at Adiala Jail, his medical treatment, and the province’s counterterrorism policy, according to Reuters.
PTI’s demands include the release of Khan, 73, who has been in prison since 2023 on corruption and other charges that he and his party say are politically motivated. The government has said marchers will not be allowed to enter Islamabad, with shipping containers barricading the capital’s entrances and thousands of police and paramilitary personnel deployed.
Separately, PTI leader Raja Ahsan Satti was shot dead in Kotli Sattian, Murree, according to the INP news wire. Unidentified gunmen fired on his car, and he died at the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, INP reported. In a separate incident on Oct. 7, PTI local leader Majid Satti was shot dead in Rawalpindi near Sixth Road. Police are investigating both killings; no motive has been publicly established.
In another development, a Lahore anti-terrorism court on Oct. 8 rejected PTI leader Ejaz Chaudhry’s bail application in the Rahat Bakery arson case.
