Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) central leaders are divided over a planned long march to Islamabad scheduled for Sept. 27, 2024 [1].
The internal rift reveals a potential fracture in party coordination during a critical period of legal battles for the party's jailed founder, Imran Khan.
Chief Minister Sohail Afridi announced the long march during a rally in Peshawar on Aug. 5, 2024 [2]. Afridi said the protest would continue until its objectives were achieved, and said the party would march to Islamabad on Sept. 27 if Imran Khan does not get justice [3].
However, central party leadership has expressed surprise at the announcement. Sheikh Waqas Akram, the PTI central information secretary, said the party was not taken into confidence before the announcement of the march [1].
This disagreement contradicts statements from other party officials. K-P Information Minister Shafi Jan said the decision was taken in consultation with the party, and its allies [1].
The planned protest is intended to demand justice for the jailed former prime minister. While some reports imply a coordinated party stance, central leaders maintain they were excluded from the decision-making process [1], [3].
“The PTI was not taken into confidence before the announcement of a long march towards Islamabad”
The friction between the provincial leadership in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the central party apparatus suggests a struggle for operational control within PTI. If the party cannot align its central leadership with regional executors, the effectiveness of mass mobilizations like the September 27 march may be diminished, potentially weakening their leverage in demanding the release of Imran Khan.
