'PTI delays long march as political strategy'
“Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf provincial spokesman Shaukat Yousafzai has described the party's decision to postpone its long march to Islamabad as a calculated political strategy aimed at compelling the fe…”
Speaking to the media outside the Peshawar High Court, he insisted that the move was not a retreat but a deliberate shift to keep the pressure on while remaining committed to peaceful struggle. Yousafzai alleged that the federal government had prepared a plan to cause casualties during any protest and that PTI had therefore changed its approach.
"The government claims the public will not come out onto the streets. Then why have 65,000 police personnel and thousands of containers been deployed? " he asked.
He maintained that PTI continues to believe in peaceful political struggle and that its demands remain legitimate and constitutional. The spokesman urged the government to abandon arrogance, stubbornness and the intoxication of power. While federal leaders speak of negotiations on television channels, he said, they show no serious intent on the ground.
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"If the government truly wants practical talks, we are ready," Yousafzai stated. He pointed to Barrister Gohar's clear formula that the solution to the country's current problems lies in negotiations and political dialogue, adding that the government must move in that direction.
Yousafzai accused the centre of pursuing a policy of exhausting and eliminating PTI through heavy deployments of police and containers. He reiterated the party's demand that the founder of PTI be provided medical treatment facilities in accordance with Supreme Court orders.
The spokesman also stressed PTI's commitment to ensuring the independence of the judiciary and the implementation of court decisions. Turning to federal-provincial relations, Yousafzai said that after the 18th Amendment, the centre has no authority to interfere in provincial matters, yet provincial ministers continue to face arrests.
He accused the federal government of imposing jungle law. He strongly condemned Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar's recent remarks about the K-P chief minister. Referring to earlier comments by Maryam Nawaz about feeling threatened by the provinces, he warned that such narratives weaken rather than strengthen the state.
On the police legislation controversy, Yousafzai asserted that the Police Act falls squarely within provincial jurisdiction. He expressed regret that a federal minister had claimed the province could not legislate on the subject. "The provincial government has the authority to legislate in the public interest, and whatever law serves the people of the province will be enacted," he said.
He challenged critics to identify any clause in the K-P Police Act that does not exist in the police laws of Punjab or Sindh, and to explain what exactly is objectionable in the provincial legislation. Yousafzai noted that the Inspector General of Police had been summoned by the provincial assembly speaker but failed to appear.
He said the purpose of the legislation was to free the police from political and administrative pressure so that it could function independently.
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