September 27 march: Gohar warns against potential use of force against PTI workers

ISLAMABAD: Acting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Gohar Ali Khan on Monday warned against the use of force as the party prepares for its planned September 27 march on Islamabad, saying its workers were coming to capital to seek justice and that “the time for bullets should end”.

Talking to reporters, Gohar said the PTI mobilisation would remain peaceful and within the constitution and law.

He urged the Punjab government to refrain from arresting or harassing party workers and called for restraint and dialogue to ease political tensions.

“There should be no firing. The time for bullets should end,” he said.

Gohar said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi would lead the movement peacefully and asked the Punjab government, particularly Rana Sanaullah, adviser to the prime minister on political affairs, not to create hurdles to the planned mobilisation.

He also called for political reconciliation, saying differences of opinion were an integral part of democracy and that the government should pursue dialogue rather than confrontation.

He demanded that PTI leaders and family members be allowed to meet the party’s founding chairman, Imran Khan, in jail, arguing that such measures could help ease tensions.

Meanwhile, the PTI accused the Punjab government of launching a crackdown against its leaders, workers and supporters ahead of the march.

In a statement, PTI spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram alleged that police had conducted raids, made arrests and imposed restrictions on party workers in an attempt to prevent the mobilisation.

He claimed police checkpoints had been set up outside the residences of PTI leaders and that several private homes and Deras had been raided or sealed.

He alleged that residences linked to Mian Zahir, Malik Shahbaz Awan, Masti Khel, Naeem Panjotha and Nisar Jutt had been raided, while their families, including women and children, were subjected to harassment.

He also condemned the reported raid on the residence of senior PTI leader Mian Mehmood-ur-Rashid, who is in jail, alleging that police caused damage to the property and harassed his family.

Akram also criticised the use of the Maintenance of Public Order (3-MPO) law against PTI workers, claiming that around 700 people had been detained ahead of the planned protest.

He also criticised remarks attributed to Sanaullah regarding protesters, describing them as provocative and warning that such rhetoric could further inflame an already tense political environment.

The PTI spokesman urged Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to respect what he called the party’s constitutional right to peaceful political activity and abandon the use of coercive measures against its workers.

The PTI said the country was already facing economic pressures, inflation, high electricity bills and growing public frustration, arguing that political confrontation would only deepen instability.

The party reiterated that its September 27 mobilisation would remain peaceful and constitutional, and called on its workers and supporters to maintain discipline and avoid confrontation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026