KARACHI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Friday evening continued his efforts to rally PTI’s support base in Karachi to support the party’s upcoming nationwide street movement.
After his visit to the Karachi Press Club (KPC), the provincial chief executive was scheduled to visit Insaf House and hold public meetings in the city’s district South and Malir.
Earlier in the evening, Afridi reached the KPC and met with the city’s journalist fraternity while appreciating the welcome extended to him by the Sindh government.
From the airport, the KP CM’s convoy took six hours to reach the press club, accompanied by a large crowd of party supporters.
During his interaction with the media, Afridi compared his arrival in the metropolis with his recent visit to Lahore and said, “Karachi has been more welcoming than Lahore”.
“The democratic traditions of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto are still alive in Sindh,” said the KP CM during his interaction with journalists at the press club.
The KP chief minister said that the purpose of his visit to Sindh’s provincial capital was to prepare for the PTI’s street movement.
“The Punjab tour was not a good experience. Wherever we went to eat food, the lights of that area were turned off,” he told reporters.
Afridi said that they had received verbal approval from the Sindh government for Sunday’s rally, though they had not received a response in writing.
“Imran Khan did not struggle for power, but for the independence of the judiciary, true democracy and freedom of expression. This is why he has been imprisoned,” the KP CM said in his address at the press club.
“In prison, he has been treated in an inhumane manner and kept in the same place where terrorists are held,” he added.
Fielding questions, CM Afridi said that he saw traces of former premiers Benazir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in Sindh’s governance, and expressed satisfaction.
CM Afridi, in another response, noted that a peace jirga was held in the provincial assembly, where all political parties agreed on fifteen points.
“One of these points was that military operations are not a problem, but if one is carried out, it would be thuggery,” he added.
Elaborating on the topic, Afridi said that “decisions cannot be made behind closed doors” and added that if the tribal elders and local leadership are not involved as stakeholders, “there will never be peace”.
“What guarantee is there that peace will return after a military operation?” he questioned.
“If the prime minister calls only on a single-point agenda regarding terrorism, I will certainly attend.”
“The solution to terrorism is that all political parties, as well as the provincial and federal governments, make a joint decision and implement it. Only then is peace possible,” Afridi said.
