PTI leader Syed Zafar Ali has hinted at postponing the party’s protest scheduled for Tuesday (tomorrow) at Islamabad’s D-Chowk at a time when the Chinese prime minister is in the federal capital for a bilateral visit and the Shanghai Organisation Cooperation summit.

“Major debate about the protest is whether it should be staged at a time so many guests are in Pakistan and is necessary that it should not be done,” he said while appearing on News Insight with Amir Zia on Monday.

“Maybe because of this we will postpone our protest but it will be decided after everyone’s consultation.”

He said: “If the government wishes to politicise this issue, they can do so, but if they agree to postpone the protest, the nation will appreciate their efforts.”

Earlier in the day, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur announced plans to march to D-Chowk in Islamabad on Tuesday (tomorrow), as Pakistan hosts a heads-of-government gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

“The government is compelling us into this action [protest at Islamabad’s D-Chowk] due to the unclear situation regarding our leader [Imran Khan],” he told reporters in the corridor of the KP CM House in Peshawar.

Gandapur was responding to queries related to the PTI’s “peaceful protest” in Islamabad tomorrow when he entered the Chief Minister’s House.

Last week, Imran Khan’s party announced its decision to protest at Islamabad’s D-Chowk on October 15—the day the country would host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in the federal capital—to seek the incarcerated former prime minister’s release.

The SCO, which includes India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, is a significant economic and security bloc that has become one of the largest trans-regional international organizations.

In addition to the high-profile leaders, around 900 delegations will be present in Islamabad for the event. Approximately 200 members of the international media, including representatives from Indian media outlets, are expected to cover the conference.