Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah has confirmed that informal, off-the-record discussions between the federal government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) are continuing over the party’s planned October 4 march on Islamabad.
Speaking on a morning news programme, Sanaullah said the final decision regarding the march rested with PTI’s senior leadership, with whom consultations were still taking place.
He said the government had made preparations to prevent the march from entering Islamabad if PTI decided to proceed with it.
Sanaullah described the proposed demonstration as an attempt by the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to confront the federal government. He maintained that while political parties had the right to stage protests, the federal government would not allow a provincial administration to enter the capital in a manner it considers unlawful.
He warned that authorities would enforce the law and prevent PTI protesters from entering Islamabad.
Speaking about the possibility of imposing governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sanaullah said the option remained under consideration. He said the federal government was consulting its coalition partners on the matter and that any such move would require the relevant constitutional and parliamentary process.
Sanaullah also criticised the performance of the KP government, alleging that the provincial administration had focused primarily on the planned Islamabad march instead of development, counterterrorism and public welfare.
He further argued that the federal government could consider constitutional measures, including governor’s rule or an emergency, if it believed the provincial government was engaging in unlawful activities.
The PTI has scheduled its Islamabad march for October 4 as part of its wider protest campaign seeking the release of party founder Imran Khan. The march was initially planned for September 27 before being postponed.
The federal government has said it will not allow demonstrations to block major roads or disrupt routine life and has previously taken additional security measures around routes leading towards Islamabad.
The political dispute has also intensified over the possibility of emergency measures in KP. However, separate reporting on October 1 indicated that the federal government had, for the time being, held off on immediately imposing either governor’s rule or an emergency while waiting for developments regarding the October 4 protest.
