- WEB DESK
- September 6, 2026
Sohail Afridi heads to Karachi as PTI’s street campaign gathers steam
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- WEB DESK
- September 6, 2026
KARACHI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi is travelling to Karachi on Sunday as part of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) street movement in Sindh, with the party planning a major gathering near Mazar-e-Quaid to mobilise support for its September 27 protest.
Afridi, accompanied by PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh and other party leaders, has been leading a five-day public mobilisation campaign across Sindh aimed at building support for the party’s planned September 27 nationwide protest for the release of former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan.
According to PTI Information Minister Shafi Jan, Afridi will visit Hyderabad and Karachi on Sunday and address party workers at different points along the route.
The party leadership is expected to travel with a large convoy towards Shahrah-i-Quaideen near Mazar-i-Quaid, where it will address supporters, Shafi Jan said.
PTI had announced the Karachi rally as part of a wider campaign that began in Sindh on September 3.
The party’s announced route has taken Afridi and other leaders through several districts, including Ghotki, Kashmore, Jacobabad, Shahdadkot, Larkana, Nawabshah, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas and Umerkot before the final leg towards Karachi.
The campaign is intended to mobilise PTI supporters for the September 27 protest, which the party says is aimed primarily at securing Khan’s release and demanding that he receive medical treatment at Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad.
PTI claims hurdles, arrests
The PTI has accused the Sindh government of attempting to obstruct its campaign by blocking roads and arresting party workers.
In a statement, the party alleged that police had arrested hundreds of PTI workers in Karachi and other parts of Sindh and that roads were being dug up or blocked to prevent the convoy of Afridi, Raja and Sheikh from reaching Karachi.
PTI described the alleged measures as evidence of what it called the Pakistan Peoples Party’s political “hypocrisy”, pointing to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s public welcome for Afridi while accusing the Sindh government of restricting the PTI’s activities on the ground.
The party demanded the immediate release of workers it said had been detained and called for roads to be opened to allow its political activities to continue.
However, police have disputed claims of a general blockade.
Hyderabad Senior Superintendent of Police Shahzeb Chachar told Dawn that there was no blockade at the Tandojam Toll Plaza in connection with Afridi’s rally, as far as his movement in Hyderabad was concerned.
Afridi himself said there could have been hurdles along the route but vowed that the PTI convoy would continue towards Hyderabad and Karachi. He thanked supporters in Umerkot and called on people in Hyderabad to prepare for the party’s arrival.
PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh also shared footage alleging that a truck had been placed across the convoy’s route in Tando Allahyar.
The party separately claimed that workers had been detained in several cities, allegations that could not immediately be independently verified.
Bilawal welcomes Afridi
The developing political confrontation comes despite an exchange between Afridi and Bilawal in which the PPP chairman publicly welcomed the KP chief minister to Sindh.
Bilawal said Sindh welcomed Afridi to Larkana and expressed hope that Pakistan would return to “politics of tolerance, respect and coexistence”, describing these as foundations of democracy.
Afridi thanked Bilawal but said democracy required freedom of political expression, an independent judiciary, recognition of the public mandate, an independent parliament and a free press.
The PTI later used the exchange to accuse the PPP-led provincial government of saying one thing on social media while allegedly taking a different approach on the ground.
PTI says Sindh ready for change
Speaking during the Sindh campaign, Shafi Jan described the turnout at PTI events as evidence of what he called the beginning of a “new political era”.
He claimed the large participation in Umerkot showed that the people of Sindh had decided in favour of political change and accused the federal and Punjab governments, as well as the Sindh administration, of depriving PTI of its electoral mandate.
He also criticised ministers whom he accused of coming to power through Form 47 rather than a genuine public mandate, saying they had remained insensitive even to national tragedies.
PTI leaders have made similar claims during the campaign, accusing the PPP government of poor governance and alleging that the province’s resources and political rights have not been adequately protected.
At a rally in Shahdadkot on Friday, PTI leaders criticised the government over Khan’s detention and urged Sindh residents to participate in the September 27 mobilisation.
PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh also alleged that 29 party workers had been arrested in Karachi.
Five-day mobilisation campaign
Afridi’s Sindh tour is part of PTI’s broader preparations for its September 27 protest movement.
The party announced the Sindh campaign earlier, saying the KP chief minister would lead a five-day outreach drive through major towns and cities before reaching Karachi. The planned Karachi programme includes a rally on Shahrah-i-Quaideen.
Afridi has repeatedly described September 27 as a firm date for the party’s planned long march and has urged PTI workers to mobilise supporters across the country.
The KP chief minister launched the street movement earlier from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, calling on party workers to prepare for a march towards Islamabad in support of Khan.
PTI says its campaign is focused on Khan’s release and his access to medical treatment, while the government has maintained that legal proceedings against the former prime minister must take their course.
Afridi’s arrival in Karachi is expected to mark the culmination of the party’s current Sindh mobilisation drive, with PTI seeking to turn the public receptions it has received in several districts into support for its September 27 protest.
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