The PTI protest strategy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) will be shaped by a joint national plan and not by immediate street action, according to the party’s provincial chapter. On Monday, the PTI’s KP leadership claimed that it avoided staging protests after the proclamation of emergency and the imposition of governor’s rule in the province because it wished to protect the lives of its workers.
The position was set out in a statement issued in Peshawar by the party’s provincial general secretary, Ali Asghar Khan, who responded to questions raised on different platforms since the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in the province.
Workers’ Protection Cited as the Priority
Mr Khan said the protection of workers was the responsibility of the party and that declining to call an immediate protest did not amount to a withdrawal from the political struggle. He stated that peaceful protest was the right of the party, but that its timing and nature should be decided under a joint strategy at the national level.
According to the statement, important questions and suggestions about the future course of action emerged during consultations with provincial, regional and district organisations, the Insaf Lawyers Forum, members of the assembly and party workers. Mr Khan said he considered it necessary to brief the workers on these matters so that they could understand the situation, the decisions taken and the reasons behind them.
He said that during the consultations, preference was given to holding a protest at an appropriate time and with a proper strategy, rather than staging an immediate one. The objective, he explained, was to keep party workers safe from further arrests and violence, and to protect both them and the party from provocations or incidents that could be given a wrong colour and blamed on workers.
Bara Protest Shaped the PTI Protest Strategy
Mr Khan referred to the protest in Bara, in the Khyber tribal district, where several PTI workers were wounded due to firing by police. In view of that incident, he said, workers and assembly members who contacted the leadership about holding protests were advised to wait for instructions from the party and to avoid an immediate reaction.
He said it was necessary to avoid unorganised and individual protests until a formal programme was announced, and that a peaceful and organised struggle at the national level was required.
Provincial deputy secretary of information Ikram Khattana told Dawn that PTI workers were not armed during the protest rallies, while those stopping the protests had guns and would have killed party workers. “We don’t want PTI workers to be harmed,” he said.
Stated Objectives of the Party
Mr Khan said the objectives of the PTI were very clear. They include:
- the release of former prime minister Imran Khan and all political prisoners
- an end to governor’s rule and emergency
- the restoration of the elected provincial government
- the protection of constitutional rights and the public mandate
- the protection of ownership rights and a rightful share over the natural resources and minerals of KP
Call for an All-Party Conference
The PTI leader said the central leadership was in contact with other political parties regarding joint constitutional and democratic objectives. In light of the consultations, the provincial organisation was of the opinion that an all-party conference should be convened as soon as possible. Mr Khan said a joint stance and a consensus on a political and constitutional line of action would be decided at such a conference.
He added that, in the meantime, there was a need for legal and parliamentary measures, contacts with political parties, lawyers, professional organisations and civil society, and for raising issues of constitutional and human rights on the media and at relevant international forums.
Timeline Sought From the Central Leadership
The provincial organisation also asked the central leadership to give clear political instructions on the future national line of action by the end of the first week of November 2026. Mr Khan said those instructions should set the priorities for political, legal, parliamentary and public activities.
The statement indicates that the PTI protest strategy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is, for now, one of consultation, coordination with other parties and legal and parliamentary effort. Whether the central leadership will issue the guidance sought by the provincial chapter within the proposed timeframe remains to be seen.
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