Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Saturday offered talks to the federal government, saying those seeking contact still had seven days to resolve the issue through negotiations.
The offer comes a day after the KP chief executive announced that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) long march towards Islamabad, originally scheduled for Sept. 27, had been postponed to Oct 4.
The former ruling party is preparing for a major protest and march on Islamabad, demanding the release of its jailed founder Imran Khan and what it describes as the restoration of constitutional supremacy.
Speaking informally to senior journalists in Peshawar, Afridi said the presence of Imran Khan’s sisters was necessary for his treatment. He said Khan should be treated at Shifa Hospital in Islamabad by his own team of doctors. Afridi said he had approached courts and other forums over the matter for nine months, but received no response.
“Our fight with the establishment is benefiting others,” CM Afridi said, adding that those seeking contact still had seven days. He said the situation would change if the marchers set out on Oct. 4. “Once we leave on Oct. 4, there will be no turning back,” he said.
CM Afridi also said his removal from the chief minister’s office would make no difference to him. If he was disqualified, he said, Imran Khan himself would decide his replacement.
Offering talks to the federal government, KP chief minister said negotiations should take place before the long march rather than after it if the issue was to be resolved through dialogue. “We want the issue to be resolved through negotiations and mutual agreement,” he said.
CM Afridi said the delay in the long march was part of the strategy, explaining that the political committee had decided to give the federal government some time.
He also invited Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman to join them, saying he would be welcomed if he came to them.
CM Afridi had announced at a news conference on Friday that the political committee had unanimously decided that the long march would leave Peshawar for Islamabad on Oct. 4.
He said PTI workers were peaceful and political, and alleged that the government wanted to create conditions similar to May 9 and register cases against party workers. The PTI had previously announced the Islamabad long march for Sept. 27, with the government also making preparations to prevent the protest.