PTI's rally will not be allowed to march past Attock, warns Kundi

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Tuesday vowed that PTI’s long march will not be allowed to proceed past Punjab’s Attock, stating that the party “did not have the capacity” to do so.

The opposition has gone ahead with its march despite warnings from the Centre, which has vowed to prevent any gatherings in Islamabad. The protest aims to demand the release of jailed party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan.

PTI decided to embark on the march after weekend talks with the federal government to bridge their differences failed for multiple reasons, particularly over the counterterrorism policy.

So far, the KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi-led convoy has aimed to reach Khairabad — which borders Punjab — by October 8, where the KP chief minister will announce the next plan of action.

Kundi made the remarks while speaking to Geo News programme Geo Pakistan.

“They cannot go any further than Attock,” Kundi said, warning PTI to “try to take a step”.

He contended that the party did not have “enough capacity” to march further.

“They claim to have two million people with them [..] show us the people, they don’t have the capacity.”

Kundi held that the province was suffering due to terrorism and “yet, they [PTI] want to march to Islamabad instead”.

Speaking about his recent meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Peshawar, the governor recalled that the two often held meetings to discuss the security situation, and during last week’s meeting, the two also discussed “dialogue with the PTI as well as the way forward in relation to PTI’s long march”.

Kundi cautioned, “If there is a mishap in the long march — especially if someone from the South KP who wants to reach Islamabad to carry out a plot — what screening mechanisms does the PTI have in place to prevent that from happening?”

He also assailed the PTI-led KP government for “staying silent” on terrorist incidents.

“When the federal government asks for their support against militancy, they say that the army should leave the province and that we should hold a dialogue with Afghanistan,” Kundi said, accusing the incarcerated PTI founder of “having militants settled in KP in the past”.

“He was called Taliban Khan,” Kundi added, speaking of Imran.

Kundi further claimed that the KP CM Afridi was taking “directions from PTI leader Muraad Saeed,” whom the governor described as a “runaway”.

He vowed that Saeed “will be brought before the people and made to pay for his actions”.

Speaking about the possibility of governor’s rule in KP, Kundi said, “If the president and prime minister hand the task to the province [..] and deem appropriate the need for the governor’s rule, the province will ensure implementation”.

He held that governor’s rule was the last resort. “Surgery is the last option; first,, you are put on medicaiton “, no one wishes to do it”, he said of the governor’s rule.

“We want to continue, but if you are pushed to the limit and there is no option left, then it is considered.”

More to follow.