• Message conveyed to party that capital protest will not be allowed, come what may
• Party cadres remain in the dark, as CM Afridi expected to unveil strategy tomorrow
• Insiders say govt has offered to shift Imran, Bushra out of prison, allow meeting with family if march is called off
• Minister denies offering any ‘confidence-building measures’

ISLAMABAD: The PTI, which is expected to come out with its plan for the Sept 27 protest by tomorrow (Friday), has been told that the federal government will not allow it to go through with the planned march on Islamabad, Dawn has learnt.

Discussions with leaders privy to developments suggest that the party has been offered certain confidence-building measures (CBMs) in backchannel contacts with the powers that be.

However, the party has also been conveyed “in clear terms” that it would not be allowed to march on the capital, and that preparations are in place to ‘fix them for good’ in case they do go ahead with the protest.

PTI insiders claimed that as part of the supposed CBMs, the government had offered to shift former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) and Banigala, respectively.

Similarly, sources said government representatives had told them that Mr Khan’s family members could be allowed to meet him in hospital, but not before Sept 27 — as that could be construed as “weakness” on the government’s part.

Insiders also claimed that the federal government had warned transporters that they would face the music, if they provided buses and vans to protesters. Following such warnings, some companies had already refused to provide the PTI with equipment such as cranes and heavy machinery, which the party has previously used to remove containers and other obstacles set up to block their path. PTI’s Naeem Haider Panjutha said the government had closed down Islamabad, and the PTI would come to re-open it, while following the orders of Islamabad High Court (IHC).

When asked about their plans for the 27th, Mr Panjutha told Dawn that workers from west, central and south Punjab will protest in their respective areas. “However, workers from North Punjab will join the march led by CM Afridi,” he said, adding that the march would not be called off.

When contacted, PTI spokesperson Sheikh Waqas Akram said their march would be totally peaceful and the party would not own any violence.

He also suggested that the federal government engage opposition leaders Raja Nasir Abbas and Mehmood Khan Achakzai, as they had been authorised by Imran Khan to negotiate on the opposition’s behalf.

Govt denies offering any CBMs

When contacted, Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry refuted the PTI claim that they had been offered any CBMs.

“Had the government offered any confidence-building measures, there would have been no long march,” Mr Chaudhry told Dawn, adding that the party had made such “one-sided claims” in the past too, but they were not true. “They are claiming too much. We are not even prepared to offer them less,” he said.

The minister also insisted that civilian law enforcement agencies were capable enough to handle the PTI threat, adding that the armed forces would not need to be called in.

Uncertainty within the party

A senior PTI leader said that KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was expected to announce the long march plan on Friday. However, he admitted that so far, the leadership and workers in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan have no clue about the strategy.

“In the past, three convoys used to march from KP. When Ali Amin Gandapur led the march from Peshawar, a second group from Hazara was led by Omar Ayub, and third caravan from south KP was spearheaded by Umar Amin Gandapur,” one party leader recalled.

At the time, Ali Amin would come via the Hazara Motorway alongside the Omar Ayub-led caravan, while Umar Amin’s people would take the CPEC route (M14).

“Now it is being said that 12 caravans will leave from KP,” the party leader said. He expressed the fear that these marchers may even be stopped within KP, given the amount of influence the Centre was exerting over the provincial police force.

Ministers’ homes are being raided; MNAs, MPAs and even union council leaders are being arrested. “For the last four days, a prominent minister has been residing in CM House to avoid arrest,” another party leader claimed.

He revealed that on Tuesday night, KP high-ups called three police officers, but they refused to turn up, adding that this was one of the main reasons why the government was mulling curtailing police powers in the province. When asked why police was not heeding the KP government, he explained that Imran Khan had given wide powers to the provincial police force.

“When Ali Amin was CM, he curtailed some of those powers, but during Sohail Afridi’s rule, the police department won a reprieve from the Peshawar High Court and became ‘independent’ again,” he said, adding that surprisingly, the provincial government did not even bother filing an appeal against the decision.”

A Punjab based party leader recalled that previously, they were criticised for failing to mobilise supporters from the province, but this time around, it seemed that even party cadres in KP were facing similar problems.

Iftikhar A. Khan also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2026