Key Takeaways
- PTI leader Panjutha hints at possible postponement of protest march.
- Government must hold elections within six to eight months, release Imran Khan, and probe May 9 and November 26 events.
- PTI spokesperson denies any proposal for march postponement is being discussed.
A PTI leader, Advocate Naeem Haider Panjutha, has hinted that the party’s protest march to Islamabad might be postponed if the federal government agrees to hold elections within six to eight months, release party chief Imran Khan, and investigate the May 9 and November 26 crackdowns on the opposition party.
Panjutha told Dawn that the march could be postponed if these three assurances were given by the government. However, there was no clarity on the origin of such a proposal, which added to confusion about the PTI’s plans for its September 27 protest.
Party spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram, however, denied any such proposal was being discussed at any party forum, stating that only Imran Khan could take a decision even if such a proposal was on the table.
Akram added that the first and primary condition for the march to be postponed was that the public mandate be respected and for free, fair, and transparent elections to be held within six to eight months.
He also demanded a clear guarantee that elections would be held before the end of the financial year and that all political prisoners, including Imran Khan, must be released — not through any deal or political settlement, but through the courts and due process of law.
The third demand was for a judicial inquiry into the events of May 9 and November 26. If these demands were fulfilled, the march could be postponed, but if ignored, the PTI would come with no compromise, no retreat, and no turning back.
On the other hand, the government has deployed Rangers in Islamabad and multiple districts of Punjab ahead of the PTI protest. The Islamabad administration reminded citizens that Section 144 was in force for two months, barring gatherings, rallies, and demonstrations.
In a meeting held at the opposition chamber in the Senate, PTI interim chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar met Senate Opposition Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and discussed preparations for the planned long march.
The meeting focused on the prevailing situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and growing challenges to provincial autonomy, as well as the September 27 protest.
The first and primary condition is that the public mandate be respected and for that free, fair and transparent elections must be held within six to eight months.
Naeem Haider Panjutha, PTI leader
We have not received any concrete offer from the government side, so the long march will be held come what may. Even if we get an offer, we will demand to arrange a meeting with Imran Khan, as only he can postpone it.
Sheikh Waqas Akram, PTI spokesperson
