Sohail Afridi announces to resume ‘street movement’ in Lahore

LAHORE: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said that he would resume his “street movement” in Lahore from Tuesday evening, alleging that Punjab police had blocked roads, detained party workers and briefly drove him around the city without security.

In a video message, Afridi said he was still in Lahore and would come out again at 5 pm.

He said no call had been given for Monday’s activity in Lahore, but people had nevertheless come out on the streets in large numbers.

“We had not told anyone where we were going. The people of Lahore came out on their own,” Afridi said.

He alleged that Punjab police had blocked all routes the protesters were using and that lights had been switched off in areas where they were travelling.

Petrol stations were also closed and their owners were prevented from providing fuel to vehicles belonging to the protesters, he alleged.

Afridi said tents at the group’s place of stay had been removed and workers arriving there were arrested.

He claimed that detained workers were placed in police vans and that he stood on one of the vans in protest.

He said police later offered to hold talks and release the workers but did not do so.

Afridi alleged that when he sat inside a police van in protest, police drove him away, describing the incident as an “abduction”.

“I was driven around the streets of Lahore for 15 minutes without security and then left midway. This was a major security risk,” he said.

Afridi alleged that the incidents were part of a “planned conspiracy”.

He also referred to recent remarks that the government faced a threat from Pakistan’s three other provinces rather than India, and alleged that the “imposed corrupt group” wanted to break up Pakistan.

“I said yesterday that I do not face a security threat; rather, I face a threat from security itself,” Afridi said.

He accused the Punjab police of becoming politicised and “so toxic” that its personnel had lost a sense of propriety.

“The hands of Punjab’s fake rulers and their courtier police are already stained with blood,” he alleged.

Afridi warned that attempts to stop his movement through what he called “low tactics” would fail.

He said Lahore residents had come out without a political call on Monday and would do so again on Tuesday.

He urged the Punjab government and police to “come to their senses” and warned that if their conduct did not change, a “strong response” would follow after the ongoing session of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.