PTI finalises action plan for September 27 Azadi March

A grand consultative conference of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was held at the Chief Minister's House in Peshawar to discuss preparations and strategy for the party's September 27 Azadi March.

The conference was chaired by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Khan Afridi and attended by PTI's central leadership, members of the national and provincial assemblies, senators, party office-bearers and ticket holders from across the country.

The participants held detailed consultations on preparations for the march, its strategy and other important aspects, while party leaders also expressed their views on the planned political campaign.

According to the PTI leadership, the September 27 march would be a peaceful struggle for the release of party founder Imran Khan, protection of his constitutional and legal rights, supremacy of the Constitution and law, democracy, the people's right to govern and a better future for Pakistan.

Speaking at the conference, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said the party would move forward with unity, consensus and mutual consultation for the ideology of Imran Khan and the rights of the people. He said the people of Pakistan and Imran Khan's supporters would demonstrate on September 27 that when a nation unites for its rights, no force can suppress its voice.

The conference also finalised an action plan for the march, under which PTI workers from different regions would participate in demonstrations and block major roads and highways. According to the plan, North Punjab would join Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while areas of central and western Punjab would move towards Lahore. South Punjab areas adjoining Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would also join the KP contingent.

The party said highways would be blocked in other areas, while important highways in Sindh would also be closed. Hyderabad and Karachi would reportedly coordinate their actions to block routes leading to Karachi. In Balochistan, PTI plans to block Quetta and important national roads and highways as part of the protest strategy.

Chief Minister Afridi criticised what he described as a lack of commitment among party workers in previous efforts to secure Imran Khan's release. "We have been continuously struggling for the release of Imran Khan, but we have failed because our people are not struggling from the heart," he said. He said party members had previously been reluctant to take responsibility and had retreated because of political expediency.

"This will not happen on September 27. Everyone will have to bear their own weight," Afridi said. The chief minister also urged PTI leaders, lawmakers and ticket holders not to fear arrest during the planned march.

"If Imran Khan is enduring jail, then what will happen to you ticket holders if you go to jail?" he said, adding that party leaders should follow the example of those who had endured political pressure and arrests.

Afridi went further by calling on assembly members and ticket holders to face arrest on September 27, arguing that their detention could encourage ordinary supporters to come out in large numbers. He said a movement that emerged from the people and continued without a central leader could not be stopped by any force.