Questions Raised Over Sohail Afridi’s Future as KP Chief Minister Amid PTI Long March Delay

ISLAMABAD:Anchorperson Kamran Shahid has raised questions over whether Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi will remain in office until October 4, amid developments surrounding the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march.

In a post on X, Kamran Shahid described the development as a significant breaking development, saying the key question was no longer whether the PTI long march would take place on October 4, but whether Sohail Afridi would still be serving as chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on that date.

Speaking on Geo News’ programme *Naya Pakistan*, anchorperson Shahzad Iqbal also questioned the reasons behind the reported postponement of the PTI long march.

He asked whether the decision had been taken because of any assurances allegedly given by the government behind the scenes, or whether the march was being postponed because of a lack of preparations.

A PTI leader confirmed that the long march had been postponed but rejected the suggestion that the party lacked preparations. According to the leader, there was no issue regarding preparations and the party wanted to “play a Test match,” suggesting a longer political campaign rather than a one-day activity.

The PTI leader also pointed to October 5, the reported birthday of PTI founder Imran Khan, saying the date carried symbolic significance for the party.

Shahzad Iqbal said that while the PTI was indicating that it intended to pursue a prolonged political campaign, sources had suggested that the government was considering a different course of action.

According to the views attributed to unnamed decision-makers during the programme, the PTI long march was no longer considered the central issue. They were quoted as saying that the PTI could either proceed with or postpone the march, while the focus had shifted to what they described as a national security issue.

The sources further alleged that Sohail Afridi and his associates were cooperating with militant elements and weakening Pakistan, and claimed that this was contributing to increased terrorism in the country. On the basis of these allegations, they reportedly said a decision had been made that the Sohail Afridi-led provincial government would have to leave office.

These allegations were presented as claims by the sources and were not independently established in the report.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Atta Tarar has also expressed similar views, according to the report, and accused PTI of facilitating terrorist elements. PTI has previously rejected allegations of links with militant groups.