The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has said it avoided calling immediate protests against the imposition of governor’s rule and emergency in the province to protect its workers from violence and arrests.
PTI provincial general secretary Ali Asghar Khan said the decision to delay protests did not mean the party was giving up its political struggle.
“Protecting our workers is our responsibility,” he said in a statement on Monday, adding that peaceful protest was the party’s right, but its timing and form should be decided through a joint national strategy.
Mr Khan said the provincial leadership had consulted party representatives from different regions and districts, members of the provincial assembly, lawyers and workers to discuss the future course of action.
He said the party preferred to organise protests at an appropriate time rather than react immediately, fearing further arrests, violence and incidents that could be used to portray workers negatively.
Referring to a recent protest in Bara, Khyber tribal district, where several PTI workers were injured in police firing, he said party workers and lawmakers who called for immediate protests had been advised to wait for formal instructions.
The provincial leadership believes that unplanned and individual protests should be avoided until the party announces an organised programme, he added.
Mr Khan said the PTI’s key demands included the release of former prime minister Imran Khan and other political prisoners, an end to governor’s rule and the emergency, restoration of the elected provincial government, and protection of constitutional rights and the public mandate.
The party also wants the people of KP to have ownership rights and a fair share in the province’s natural resources and minerals, he said.
Mr Khan said the PTI’s central leadership was in contact with other political parties to pursue shared constitutional and democratic goals. He called for an all-parties conference to develop a joint strategy.
He added that the party should also pursue legal and parliamentary measures, engage with lawyers and civil society, and raise constitutional and human rights issues through the media and relevant international forums.
The KP chapter wants the central leadership to announce clear guidelines for the party’s future political, legal, parliamentary and public activities by the end of the first week of November 2026, he said.
PTI provincial deputy information secretary Ikram Khattana told Dawn that party workers attending protest rallies were unarmed, while those trying to stop them had guns.
“We don’t want PTI workers to be harmed,” he said.
