PESHAWAR – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shafi Jan has said the September 27 date announced for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) proposed long march remains unchanged for now, while reiterating that the party remains committed to negotiations and political dialogue.
He said the door to dialogue remained open, but there would be no change in the September 27 schedule unless tangible and credible progress was made on the party’s core demands.
Mr Jan said two principal demands had been set out when the date was announced at the August 5 public gathering. The first was that cases against PTI founder Imran Khan should be fixed for hearing and adjudicated strictly in accordance with law and justice.
The second was his transfer, in view of his health condition, to a facility where he could receive appropriate medical care in the presence of family members and personal physicians.
He said the Supreme Court’s decision regarding Mr Khan’s transfer constituted clear progress on the second demand and stressed that the order must now be implemented fully and without delay. He expressed concern over the delay in its implementation.
The provincial information minister said nothing was more important than Mr Khan’s health and that the matter should not be reduced to a political controversy. He said the government should have facilitated the transfer on humanitarian and moral grounds in the first place. With a judicial order now in force, he added, its implementation was the government’s responsibility.
Mr Jan said the September 27 date was not intended as confrontation for its own sake but as a means of securing constitutional, legal and political rights. He said the date would remain in place until the stated demands were addressed, while preparations for the movement would continue.
He said PTI had not issued a formal call for a movement since November 26, yet restrictions on its political activities had continued to intensify rather than ease. He claimed that Mr Khan had remained in isolation for an extended period and that his sister had been able to meet him only after approximately 265 days.
Mr Jan said whenever PTI’s political movement gained momentum or a date was announced, the government began talking about negotiations.
“Our position is clear: negotiations should take place, but they should not be used merely to buy time. What is required is serious, clear and workable progress on the demands,” he said.
He said Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi was personally overseeing the overall process. The chief minister would visit Hangu on Saturday and Buner on Sunday as part of the political mobilisation campaign, he added.
Mr Jan said the chief minister would subsequently visit other parts of the province, while consultations with allied parties and the party leadership would continue regarding a broader political outreach campaign in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan.
Rejecting speculation on social media about a possible deal, Mr Jan categorically denied any agreement, backchannel contact or intention to enter into a secret arrangement.
“If a deal had been the objective, Imran Khan would not have spent nearly 1,000 days in detention,” he said.
