With its long march continuing, Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday demanded the release of former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi and seven other party leaders, as Opposition figures warned of further street protests against emergency and governor's rule in the province.
"This is no longer the time for negotiations but for practical action," PTI chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan told reporters after a court hearing, accusing the federal government of undermining democracy and provincial autonomy.
The remarks came a day after the party filed an amended petition in the Peshawar High Court challenging the imposition of emergency and governor's rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on constitutional grounds.
Speaking alongside PTI general secretary Salman Akram Raja and Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Gohar said the political and constitutional dispute should be resolved through the judiciary.
The three leaders criticised the federal government's actions, describing them as undemocratic and unconstitutional.
Gohar said PTI workers continued to face mistreatment and maintained that the party's electoral mandate had been taken away despite its having formed the provincial government.
He said the party's long march was continuing and claimed that negotiations would already have taken place had the government genuinely intended to hold talks.
The PTI chairman also reiterated his party's opposition to terrorism, describing it as a scourge. He said the party did not want to make statements that could undermine efforts to combat it.
Raja, meanwhile, questioned the constitutional basis of the emergency, arguing that such a measure required a resolution of the provincial assembly.
He maintained that governor's rule could be imposed only when the provincial government was unable to function.
The PTI general secretary also raised concerns over what he described as violations of citizens' privacy and the sanctity of homes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Achakzai, who heads the Balochistan-based Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, warned that political disputes could spill onto the streets if they were not resolved through the courts.
He urged people to organise peaceful demonstrations against the government, declaring that the final phase of the political struggle had begun.
Referring to Pakistan's constitutional history, Achakzai said the 1973 Constitution had been framed after considerable difficulty and recalled the use of Article 58(2)(b) to dismiss elected governments in the past.
The provision had empowered the President to dissolve the National Assembly under specified circumstances. It was removed through the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010.
Achakzai also said his party had no personal hostility towards former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif or President Asif Ali Zardari.
He criticised the treatment of Afridi, saying the former chief minister had represented around 40 million people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but had been subjected to ridicule.
Drawing a comparison with demonstrations in France, Achakzai referred to protests against inflation and claimed that large crowds had taken to the streets and set fires without police firing a single bullet.
The renewed criticism came amid the continuing legal challenge to the emergency measures and demands for the release of Afridi and seven other party leaders who were taken into protective custody following their imposition.