PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Saturday declared that Sept 27 was a “firm and non-negotiable” date for the PTI’s long march on Islamabad, which would take place as scheduled.

Addressing PTI workers in Hangu district as part of the ongoing street movement to demand the release of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan, the chief minister urged them to prepare for the march on Islamabad, saying he will lead it and return only after achieving the objective.

“This time around, there is no turning back. We will return victorious,” he said.

In a statement issued from his office, Mr Afridi complained that the Supreme Court had ordered the treatment of Mr Imran at the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad but the federal government didn’t act on the orders.

Alleges federal govt undermined SC authority by disregarding orders on Imran’s medical treatment

He said that the court had granted a two days’ time for the treatment to be arranged but those who considered themselves above the Constitution and the law didn’t comply with the judicial order.

The chief minister said that instead of the previously announced target of two million participants, the Sept 27 long march would take four million people to Islamabad to take the PTI’s political struggle to its logical conclusion.

He alleged that the government and administration had disregarded the Supreme Court’s orders on Mr Imran’s treatment and thus, undermining the court’s authority.

“The conduct of the so-called ‘untouchable’ has once again demonstrated that certain powerful individuals consider themselves beyond constitutional and legal accountability,” he said.

Mr Afridi questioned the “selective” enforcement of judicial orders, saying that whenever a court order was issued against the PTI or its workers, the Federal Investigation Agency or any other federal institution, it was implemented within hours and police would arrive within minutes.

He said the failure to enforce the court’s orders about the PTI founder’s medical treatment reflected a fundamentally unequal application of the law.

“If the courts can’t hold the powerful and the so-called ‘untouchable’ accountable, they should not punish the vulnerable as well and should also consider releasing weaker prisoners,” he said.

The chief minister said there couldn’t be one law for the weak and another for the powerful in the same country.

He said the main objective of Mr Imran’s struggle for “real freedom” was the equal application of the law to all citizens.

Mr Afridi called upon the courts to uphold justice, saying that the nation has always stood with them in their pursuit of justice.

He urged the judiciary to consider the direction in which the country is heading, pointing to the difficulties faced by farmers, the flight of industrial capital out of the country and the economic pressures confronting the common man.

The chief minister declared the PTI founder a symbol of national unity and said Mr Imran was the only national leader capable of restoring public confidence in state institutions and their standing.

He said that the opponents even feared the PTI founder’s name and image.

“Imran Khan will return and peace will be restored,” he said.

Mr Afridi said the country had peace during Mr Imran’s tenure as the prime minister from 2018 to 2022. He insisted that “misguided” policies being formulated behind closed doors and pursued were resulting in the loss of innocent lives.

“We reject every policy that fills the pockets of a few while innocent people pay the price with their blood,” he said.

The chief minister said that the state belonged to the people and the people wanted Mr Imran to rule it.

He claimed that Pakistan’s public debt had totalled Rs97 trillion, with the common man facing economic hardship.

Mr Afridi said that the federal government’s policies were pushing the country deeper into socioeconomic crises, with industrialists moving their capital abroad while ordinary people struggled with escalating inflation and deteriorating economic conditions.

Mr Afridi said that PTI founder Imran had placed considerable hope in the country’s youths, who made up around 90 per cent of the participants of the PTI rallies and street protests.

He declared youths the principal source of strength of the party’s movement and said that the powerful ruling elite were most apprehensive of a politically conscious young generation.

“The youths have to decide the country’s future. They must stand up for their own future,” he said, urging young people to participate in the Sept 27 march on Islamabad.

The chief minister alleged that PTI workers, including women, were being subjected to continued repression.

He claimed that innocent PTI workers had been shot and martyred in Muridke area of Punjab, while Mr Imran’s sisters had been disrespected and mistreated.

Mr Afridi said that his and other PTI activists’ association with Mr Imran went beyond conventional politics and was rooted in an intense commitment to his leadership.

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf provincial president Junaid Akbar Khan, provincial ministers Shafi Jan and Meena Khan Afridi, and other party leaders also participated in the event.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2026