Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has launched a long march toward Islamabad to demand the release of jailed party founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Axar.az reports, citing Dawn, that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi led the convoy from Lakki Marwat on Sunday, with thousands of PTI supporters joining the march. By late Sunday, the convoy had entered Karak district.

Addressing supporters, Afridi said the party would continue to follow Khan’s policies and rejected any policy he said was against the interests of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its people.

“We are not ‘yes-men’; we are soldiers of Imran Khan, and we will carry forward his policies,” Afridi said.

The march was originally scheduled for September 27 but was postponed until October 4. PTI supporters from several districts are expected to join the convoy as it moves through the province toward Islamabad, with the planned route extending through Kohat and Peshawar before reaching the federal capital.

The federal government has warned that protesters will not be allowed to enter Islamabad, while authorities have imposed restrictions on movement in several Khyber Pakhtunkhwa districts citing security concerns.