Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Sunday concluded his three-day visit to Punjab capital Lahore, announcing he will next proceed to Sindh capital Karachi as part of efforts to mobilize public support for a “street movement.”
In an interaction with journalists on Sunday, he said the party wanted to resolve tensions with the government through dialogue but would first stage a “massive protest” to demonstrate its strength. Echoing comments said by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz from when her party was in opposition, he said “reconciliation will follow resistance.”
To a question on anticipated results of the protest considering the party’s failure to secure any gains from previous attempts, Afridi maintained this time would be “different” and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would achieve positive results.
The chief minister claimed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s willingness to engage with the PTI suggested the “powers-that-be” were interested in dialogue. However, he said, such talks could only prove fruitful if the “powerbrokers” were directly involved.
“The establishment now knows that the incumbent rulers are unable to take Pakistan forward,” he claimed, accusing the government of corruption and economic mismanagement.
Despite the PTI proceeding with plans for a “street movement,” opposition alliance Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz Aain Pakistan (TTAP) has agreed to engage in dialogue with the government. A key stakeholder of the TTAP, the PTI’s contradictory approach has invited criticism from government lawmakers, who have questioned the legitimacy of any talks so long as the PTI continues to push for street agitation.
During his interaction with journalists, the chief minister also pushed back against the Punjab government, maintaining “no one has done more work to rid KP of drugs than my administration.” Earlier, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari had said the KP chief minister was welcome to visit Punjab and Lahore, but this was not an invitation to spread unrest or encourage the “drug mafia.”
In a statement on Sunday, she said PTI supporters were sharing images of protests in Bangladesh and claiming it was Lahore. She alleged this was the result of the PTI failing to attract significant numbers during Afridi’s visit to Lahore. She also urged the PTI and Afridi to focus on the issues facing KP rather than staging “ineffective” protests outside the province.
Military operations
The chief minister made clear to journalists his administration would not support any military operations in KP. In seeming response to this, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi urged the provincial government to support military operations in the province to counter rising militancy.
Addressing a press conference, he warned that development cannot occur without stability. Blaming Kabul for its failure to prevent the use of Afghan soil for terrorism in Pakistan, he said Afghans residing illegally in Pakistan must return to their homeland.
Alleging that Afghan nationals were involved in terror attacks at Dera Ismail Khan and the Cadet College Wana, he lamented that these terrorist elements were playing into the hands of India and Israel.