PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shafi Jan has urged overseas YouTubers who produce content centred on Imran Khan to financially support the party’s planned September 27 long march on Islamabad.
In a video message, Jan said YouTubers who had built audiences and earned substantial amounts through content featuring the PTI founder should contribute to the party’s campaign.
He said the party needed financial resources to meet the expenses of the planned march and appealed to those earning from Imran Khan-related content to share part of their earnings with the party.
Jan specifically addressed what he referred to as “Youthia YouTubers”, a term commonly used in political discourse for social media creators who strongly support Imran Khan and PTI.
He said these YouTubers, particularly those living abroad, had earned millions of dollars using Khan’s name and should now financially contribute to the movement.
The appeal comes ahead of PTI’s planned September 27 long march towards Islamabad, which the party has described as a campaign for the release of Imran Khan and the pursuit of its political demands.
PTI announced the September 27 march in August, with Jan saying the decision had been taken in consultation with allied parties. He also said the march could continue for several days rather than being limited to a single day.
Meanwhile, the proposed march is facing a legal challenge in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
A citizen, Waqas Ahmed, has petitioned the court against the PTI’s planned September 27 protest and long march, arguing that it could disrupt routine life, traffic and business activities in the federal capital.
The petition also raises concerns over the possible use of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government resources and machinery for the political activity.
The IHC has constituted a larger bench to hear the case. The three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar, has sought affidavits from the KP chief secretary and inspector general of police regarding the proposed march. The KP advocate general has also questioned the court’s jurisdiction to hear the petition.
The court proceedings are still under way, and no final ruling has been issued on the legality of the September 27 march.
PTI, meanwhile, has maintained that the march will go ahead unless there is tangible progress on its demands. Jan has previously described the movement as a last option and said its ultimate objective was to secure the release of Imran Khan.
The latest funding appeal places the financial role of pro-Imran social media creators at the centre of PTI’s mobilisation campaign as the September 27 deadline approaches.
