ISLAMABAD: Political temperatures rose further on Friday as the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) put off its planned long march to Islamabad from September 27 to October 4, with the party vowing a major mobilisation against the government.
The decision was taken during a meeting of senior PTI leaders at the party’s central office, attended via video link by KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi from Peshawar, followed by consultations with the Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Aain-e-Pakistan (TTAP), an alliance of key opposition parties.
Addressing a press conference in Peshawar, Afridi ended speculation over the new date, declaring: “The Long March will depart from Peshawar to Islamabad on Sunday, October 4. This is the unanimous decision of the political committee.”
READ MORE: Gohar urges govt to hold talks with PTI ahead of march
Behind the scenes, however, PTI sources said the delay was less about retreat and more about strategy.
According to people familiar with the discussions, the party remains committed to the march but is taking a more calculated approach to its timing and execution.
With the protest coming after a gap of nearly two and a half years, PTI strategists believe the mobilisation cannot afford to fizzle out without making a political impact.
The strategy under consideration, sources said, is to keep the protest on the roads for as long as possible and build sustained pressure on the authorities.
The October 4 date, they added, could give the party additional time to mobilise supporters and confront the extensive security arrangements being put in place along the route to Islamabad.
The Punjab and federal governments have deployed security personnel and positioned shipping containers at multiple points, including around Attock Bridge, where authorities are expected to try to prevent PTI supporters travelling from KP into Punjab and onward to Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
PTI sources claim the party expects the security deployment to face mounting pressure if thousands of protesters remain mobilised for an extended period.
They also insist that the march will attempt to enter the federal capital and reach D-Chowk despite government efforts to block it.
PTI’s KP president Junaid Akbar struck a defiant note, warning that “Naqvi and Sanaullah will be shocked” when the marchers reach D-Chowk, as he vowed that no attempt to stop the “sea of people” would derail the protest or its demands.
The government, meanwhile, has made clear it will not allow protesters into the capital’s sensitive zones, setting the stage for a fresh and potentially tense face-off between PTI workers and the security apparatus.
Amid the growing political drama, PTI leadership publicly brushed aside reports of internal divisions and insisted that the decision to postpone the march was reached through consultation and consensus.
Talking to reporters after a meeting of the party’s political committee and consultations with TTAP Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai and opposition leader in Senate Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, acting PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Khan said the wider opposition leadership had been kept in the loop.
Gohar said jailed party founding chairman had entrusted Afridi with leading the long march, dismissing reports of internal rifts and vowing that the mobilisation would continue until the party’s demands were met.
“We are a political party, and we make decisions through consensus and detailed consultation,” he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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