While confirming the provincial cabinet had already approved the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Tuesday reiterated a demand for a meeting with incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan to secure his input.
Speaking with media outside Adiala Jail, where Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers joined Khan’s sisters in seeking a meeting with the jailed party founder, Afridi said both he and Adviser for Finance Muzammil Aslam needed to meet Khan. He argued that the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had voted for Khan and it was both appropriate and necessary for the provincial government to seek the party founder’s input on budget proposals prior to its finalization.
However, he confirmed, the provincial cabinet had already approved a proposed budget that aligned with key development priorities. He claimed the approved budget had emphasized health, education, environmental sustainability, and agriculture.
He vowed to file a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for a meeting with Khan, warning of “severe” political consequences if authorities continued to deny access to the jailed leader. If the situation persists, he warned, PTI lawmakers from across Pakistan would stage a sit-in outside the National Assembly next week, on June 10, adding they would also resist the government’s efforts to pass the federal budget.
Reiterating the PTI’s demands for an end to Khan’s “isolation” and treatment at a private medical facility, Afridi said these asks were neither unconstitutional nor unlawful and were a fundamental right. To a question on rumors of a forward bloc in KP seeking his ouster, the chief minister said only Imran Khan could decide whether or not an individual could cease to hold the office.
During his press interaction, Afridi also slammed the federal government, noting it had failed to meet its revenue and taxation targets. He said rising unemployment, industrial decline, shrinking business activity, and persistent inflation proved economic conditions were worsening rather than improving. He claimed the upcoming federal budget would prove disastrous for the public, placing additional financial hardships on them amidst economic hardships.
Meanwhile, Khan’s sister Aleema rejected reports claiming Khan had recently met a former Army chief in prison, adding the only acceptable “deal” for her brother was the restoration of an independent judiciary and the holding of free and fair elections.
Maintaining that it was the family’s right to meet Khan, she vowed to continue efforts for a meeting, adding if the government wished it could arrest her. At one point, she also chastised Afridi for discussing the upcoming provincial budget, telling him he should not pass any budget without prior approval of her brother.