PESHAWAR, Oct 05 (APP):People from different walks of life on Monday staged protest demonstrations in Peshawar against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) long march, demanding Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sohail Afridi immediately call off the agitation and focus on the province’s pressing security and socioeconomic challenges.
Traders, shopkeepers, businessmen, students and other citizens gathered in front of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, where they raised slogans against what they described as confrontational politics and the continued political agitation by the provincial ruling party.
The protesters also burnt tyres and blocked road, causing disruption to traffic and creating difficulties for commuters.
They said that the people of the province were already facing serious challenges, including insecurity, unemployment, inflation and limited economic opportunities, and could not afford prolonged political unrest.
The demonstrations reflected growing frustration among sections of the public who accused CM KP of diverting its attention from governance and public welfare towards political confrontation.
Haseeb Khan, a resident of Ganj who participated in the protest, said the provincial government should give priority to restoring peace, creating employment opportunities and addressing the problems confronting ordinary citizens instead of mobilising people for political agitation.
He alleged that the Chief Minister KP was giving greater importance to the long march than the security and economic concerns of the people, urging him to reconsider the decision and concentrate on fulfilling the government’s responsibilities.
Shopkeeper Bilal Khan criticised what he termed PTI’s politics of agitation, saying traders and small businesses were the first to suffer whenever roads were blocked and normal commercial activities disrupted.
“There is no justification for keeping the province in a state of political uncertainty when people are demanding jobs, peace, clean drinking water, pollution free environment and economic stability,” he said.
Lecturer Ehtisham Qaiser also criticised the irrational decision to continue with the long march, arguing that political differences should be resolved through dialogue rather than street confrontation.
He said the Federal Government delegation had accepted most of the demands put forward by the PTI delegation during talks in Islamabad, and questioned the rationale behind continuing the agitation despite progress in negotiations.
The protesters appealed to the Chief Minister KP to withdraw the long march and use the available political space for meaningful negotiations, saying that peace, security, education, employment and economic stability should remain the government’s foremost priorities.
They also called upon political parties to avoid measures that could further disrupt routine life and instead adopt a responsible approach to resolving political differences through democratic and constitutional means.
The protesters further demanded stronger administrative measures to maintain peace and normalcy in the province, with some participants calling for emergency measures to address the prevailing grim security and shabby economic situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
