Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Tuesday vowed that PTI’s long march would not be allowed to proceed beyond Attock in Punjab — which borders KP — saying the party “did not have the capacity” to do so. The opposition has gone ahead with its march despite warnings from the Centre, which has vowed to prevent any gatherings in Islamabad. The protest aims to demand the release of jailed party founder and former prime minister Imran Khan. PTI decided to embark on the march after weekend talks with the federal government to bridge their differences failed for multiple reasons, particularly over the counterterrorism policy. So far, the KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi-led convoy has aimed to reach Khairabad — which borders Punjab — by October 8, where the KP chief minister will announce the next plan of action. Kundi made the remarks while speaking to Geo News programme ‘Geo Pakistan’. “They cannot go any further than Attock,” Kundi said, challenging PTI to “try to take a step”. He contended that the party did not have “enough capacity” to march further. “They claim to have two million people with them […] show us the people; they don’t have the capacity.” Kundi said the province was suffering from terrorism and “yet, they [PTI] want to march to Islamabad instead”. Speaking about his recent meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in Peshawar, the governor recalled that the two often held meetings to discuss the security situation, and during last week’s meeting, the two also discussed “dialogue with the PTI as well as the way forward in relation to PTI’s long march”. Kundi cautioned: “If there is a mishap during the long march — especially if someone from southern KP who wants to reach Islamabad to carry out a plot [is involved] — what screening mechanisms does PTI have in place to prevent that from happening?” He also assailed the PTI-led KP government for “staying silent” on terrorist incidents. “When the federal government asks for their support against militancy, they say that the army should leave the province and that we should hold a dialogue with Afghanistan,” Kundi said, accusing the incarcerated PTI founder of “having militants settled in KP in the past”. “He was called Taliban Khan,” Kundi added, referring to Imran. Kundi further claimed that KP Chief Minister Afridi was taking “directions from PTI leader Murad Saeed”, whom the governor described as a “runaway”. He vowed that Saeed “will be brought before the people and made to pay for his actions”. Speaking about the possibility of governor’s rule in KP, Kundi said: “If the president and prime minister hand the task to the province […] and deem governor’s rule necessary, the province will ensure its implementation.” He held that governor’s rule was the last resort. “Surgery is the last option; first, you are put on medication. No one wishes to do it,” he said, referring to governor’s rule. “We want to continue, but if you are pushed to the limit and there is no option left, then it is considered.” On Monday night, after reaching Kohat’s Lachi tehsil, CM Afridi said while addressing PTI supporters that this time, the party’s struggle was a long one that required endurance and sustained mobilisation, according to a statement issued by his office. “We must not exhaust ourselves. Our struggle is a long one,” he said, adding that, however, from Oct 8 onwards, a “T20 match” would begin. The convoy stayed overnight in Kohat and plans to resume the journey today towards Peshawar at 3pm. On the afternoon of Oct 7, the caravan will depart from Budh Bair in Peshawar and spend the night near Charsadda Interchange. The protesters will then move forward the next afternoon and spend the night of Oct 8 at Khairabad. Notably, the KP CM has refrained from detailing the final leg of the trip to the federal capital and said the plan for the next phase would be announced at Khairabad. The march so far After launching the already-postponed march from Lakki Marwat on Sunday afternoon, the KP CM’s caravan reached Karak at night, where Afridi addressed supporters at Jail Chowk. Ahead of the march, movement on several roads in KP’s Dera Ismail Khan, Upper and Lower South Waziristan, Tank and Hangu was restricted under Section 144 for varying periods. On Sunday, former KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur, who was leading PTI workers from DI Khan to Lakki Marwat, took a U-turn from Yarik because of road blockades and the prevailing law and order situation. Noting that Section 144 had been imposed in the area for three days, Gandapur stressed that the party leadership had clearly directed workers not to damage public property or engage in any activity that could worsen the situation. Nevertheless, he contended that the return should not be viewed as a withdrawal from the protest movement, but as a temporary decision. In Karachi, a planned protest campaign in different areas was disrupted after police deployed personnel at several locations, blocked roads and detained several party workers and leaders. The PTI claimed that police detained more than 75 of its leaders and workers, including women, from different parts of Karachi. It further alleged that arrests made in other parts of Sindh, including Sukkur, put the total number of detained PTI workers across the province at more than 100. On Saturday night, an opposition delegation comprising PTI and Tehreek-i-Tahafuz-i-Ayin-i-Pakistan (TTAP), and a joint team of the government and PPP held hours-long negotiations, which ended in a deadlock. While the federal government blamed CM Afridi for the failure of negotiations, PTI denied the allegations and claimed that access to Imran, his medical treatment and the federal government’s counterterrorism policy were the key reasons. According to PTI, the government agreed to restore meetings between Imran and his family members and lawyers from Tuesday, but “declined to make access to Imran Khan part of the proposed agreement”.