KP CM Sohail Afridi reaches Hyderabad, addresses PTI supporters
HYDERABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Saturday evening reached Hyderabad city for a day-long trip to mobilise the public for a nationwide street movement.
After arriving in the city, Afridi addressed PTI supporters and workers at Khurshid Chowk.
CM Afridi arrived in Karachi on Friday on a four-day visit to garner momentum in the lead up to the planned February 8 protests, which would mark two years since the general elections that the opposition claims were rigged.
Earlier on Saturday, CM Afridi was welcomed by Sindh United Party (SUP) President Syed Zain Shah upon his arrival at the G.M. Syed Edifice.
Addressing the welcome event, CM Afridi said the politics of President Asif Ali Zardari has “ended” the politics of PPP’s Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his daughter Benazir Bhutto.
“Now, there is Zardari’s control over Sindh,” he said.
Afridi was responding to SUP’s Shah, who had mentioned the KP CM’s remarks from Friday, in which he praised the PPP for “keeping the democratic traditions” of Bhutto and Benazir alive. He said Shah had misconstrued his remarks about PPP’s rule in Sindh.
CM Afridi also claimed that Bagh-i-Jinnah — the venue for the PTI’s Karachi gathering that the Sindh government says can be held — has been “locked”. Regardless, the PTI leader urged the public to gather there on Sunday.
The chief minister slammed the PPP, which he said was once the “flag-bearer of the Constitution”, for changing the basic fabric of the Constitution through the 26th and 27th Amendments.
“Whenever Imran Khan issues a call for a street movement, we hope that you will support us,” Afridi said.
“The name is Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi. Remember it,” he said, taking a jibe at those who were “scared” of his name. He further quipped that “every chowk is D-chowk” when supporters raised slogans of Islamabad’s renowned D-Chowk.
CM Afridi stressed that PTI founder Imran Khan’s struggle was for the “supremacy of the Constitution and the law, true democracy, rule of law, free media and the restoration of an independent judiciary”.
“God willing, we will not sit calmly unless we fulfil this heartfelt desire of Imran Khan,” he vowed.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said Sindh had been deprived of its resources and added that “powerful quarters” have usurped provinces‘ resources.
He said Sindh has the first right to use its gas over any other part of the country, adding that no one could snatch the province’s water.
Raja pointed out that the PTI supported Sindh’s stance on the six canals issue. He maintained that PTI was not there for “politics of power” and therefore, it would not strike a deal.
In his speech, the SUP president came down hard on the PPP, accusing it of selling Sindh’s resources in lieu of power.
Shah said that for the last 79 years, either “military rule or puppet civilian rulers have ruled the country”. He said a “fake government” was installed not only in the 2024 elections but in 2022 as well, when Imran was ousted.
He demanded fresh and transparent elections and the release of all political prisoners, including Imran and Yasmin Rashid.
In a post on Facebook, the SUP demanded the release of “all political prisoners, including Imran Khan, Ali Wazir, Mahrang Baloch, and Moro [incident’s] prisoners“.
At around 2pm, the PTI shared a video, saying CM Afridi and his convoy had reached Jamshoro. Another video showed him raising slogans of “Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi”. Staff Report
