PESHAWAR — The All Pakistan Lawyers Action Committee has thrown its weight behind PTI’s long march toward Islamabad, describing the protest as a struggle for constitutional supremacy, an independent judiciary and an end to what it called the illegal arrests of political and human-rights activists, as reported by Dawn via NationPress.
The committee’s chairman, Ali Ahmed Kurd, called the march a “historic struggle for democracy and the rule of law.” The lawyers’ body also warned that it would hold protests of its own if the federal government imposes governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi is leading the march. The convoy reached Peshawar on Friday and moved on to Mardan on October 10, with Afridi calling on supporters and parliamentarians to assemble in Swabi today, October 11, as the march continues its push toward the capital.
The government’s response has been sharp. In a Geo News interview, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned that PTI founder Imran Khan would get “no relief” if the party tries to pressure the government, and he accused PTI of acting in concert with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan — an allegation PTI has not had a chance to answer in the same interview and which Zark News could not independently verify.
The lawyers’ backing adds a new institutional dimension to a march that has already drawn national attention. The committee framed its support around constitutional causes rather than party politics — supremacy of the constitution, an independent judiciary, and opposition to what it described as illegal arrests of political and human-rights activists — and it explicitly demanded the release of jailed PTI founder Imran Khan. The warning against governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa raises the stakes further: such a move would put the province under direct federal control and almost certainly deepen the confrontation.
Swabi, where supporters are gathering today, sits on the route toward Islamabad and has served as a staging ground in previous PTI mobilizations. With the convoy rolling through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the government signaling no concessions, the coming days will test whether the march can sustain its momentum — and how far both sides are willing to go.
