Khan's party march enters Peshawar, skips Khairabad and aims for Swabi
Imran Khan's party marched into Peshawar on Thursday instead of stopping at Khairabad as first planned. Provincial chief minister Sohail Afridi says he will reveal the next step in Swabi, now set for Oct. 12. The government has warned the party against any protest in Islamabad.
The protest march by Imran Khan's party entered Peshawar on Thursday, its fifth day on the road. The plan has changed again. The march was supposed to stop Thursday at Khairabad, on the border with Punjab province, where leaders would say what comes next. Now that announcement will wait until the march reaches Swabi.
Sohail Afridi, chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, leads the march for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or PTI. Speaking at Bara Bazaar in Khyber district on Wednesday, he said the next plan is being kept secret for now. He said a big rally in Swabi would start "a new political phase." He also promised the march would stay peaceful and lawful, Aaj News reported.
A revised schedule puts the march in Peshawar on Thursday, Charsadda on Oct. 9 and Mardan on Oct. 10, the Daily Independent reported. Caravans from across the province are due to meet in Swabi on Oct. 12. A PTI social media aide told Dawn the final stop is still not fixed.
In Peshawar, the route runs from the Hayatabad Toll Plaza through the city to Charsadda Road, where marchers plan to spend the night. Several private schools in the city said they would close. Mobile phone service was reported cut in parts of the city, though officials have not confirmed it.
Afridi also took aim at the army. "I will not allow another military operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa," he said. Families from Tirah, in Khyber district, left their homes for an operation against militants in December 2025. Afridi says Islamabad has not paid all the money it owes the old tribal areas.
The march began Oct. 4 in Lakki Marwat and Karak. PTI wants Khan, a former prime minister, freed from prison. Its leaders once named Islamabad as the final goal, and the federal government has warned against any rally there. Talks between the two sides broke down last weekend, mostly over counterterrorism policy. The province's governor, Faisal Karim Kundi, dared the party to "cross through Swabi and show us."
What we know: The march is in Peshawar and heads for Swabi, with an Oct. 12 target.
What we don't: What Afridi will announce in Swabi, or whether marchers will try for Islamabad.
Where outlets agree Dawn and Aaj News both report that Afridi now says he will announce the march's next step in Swabi rather than at Khairabad.
Where they differ The Daily Independent says caravans will meet in Swabi on Oct. 12, while a PTI aide told Dawn the final destination is still tentative.