Sohail Afridi says PTI will clarify policy on new provinces after consulting Imran Khan

KARACHI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would clarify its policy on the creation of new provinces after consulting party founder Imran Khan.

Addressing lawyers at the Sindh High Court Bar Association in Karachi, Afridi said that he was opposed to any division of Sindh if the people of the province themselves did not support it.

“If the people of Sindh are against the division of the province, I stand with them,” he said.

Afridi said that the PTI’s position on new provinces would be made clear after seeking guidance from Imran Khan.

He said that the event at the Sindh High Court Bar was the final programme of his visit to Sindh and thanked the people of the province for the respect they had shown him.

“I thank the people of Sindh for the courage and bravery with which they faced oppression,” he said.

Criticising the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government in Sindh, Afridi described the province’s rulers as a misfortune for its people.

He pointed to what he described as contradictory behaviour by PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, saying that Bilawal had welcomed him on social media while containers were placed on Karachi’s roads to stop his movement.

Afridi also criticised the removal of a PTI flag from a female party worker by a police official near Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum the previous day.

He said the incident had caused him to return the security provided by the Sindh police.

“I do not need Sindh police security. Let all the police vehicles return; not a single vehicle should accompany me,” Afridi said.

He expressed regret to Karachi residents for the inconvenience caused by road closures during his visit.

Referring to the incident involving the female PTI worker, the chief minister said women supporters came to political gatherings out of their affection for Imran Khan.

“Police officers should be ashamed of snatching flags from our mothers and sisters,” he said.

Afridi further urged the PPP to support his stance if it was genuinely opposed to the division of Sindh.

“If the Pakistan People’s Party is unhappy with the division of Sindh, it should abandon hypocrisy and support us,” he said.

The chief minister also criticised Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, alleging that she considered the three provinces of Pakistan a greater threat than India.

He said the judiciary was losing its credibility and public confidence in state institutions was declining.

“The judiciary is losing its dignity and people’s trust in institutions is eroding,” he said.

Afridi invited Karachi residents to join the protest on September 27, urging them to show courage and stand up against what he described as oppression.

“Shut Karachi for a week and they will come begging at our feet,” he said.

He also called on supporters to confront the authorities, saying they needed to develop the courage to speak up and demand their rights.

Afridi said that Imran Khan could become prime minister again if he reached a political deal.

“If Imran Khan strikes a deal, he can become prime minister tomorrow,” he said.

The chief minister said those who stood by PTI would receive the party’s support in return.

“We will stand with the person who stands for us,” he said.

Afridi also thanked the lawyers for their support, saying the passion and enthusiasm he had witnessed among people in Sindh was different.

Meanwhile, PTI leader Haleem Adil Sheikh said that he was monitoring the ongoing protests in Karachi.

He said that the spirit and enthusiasm he was witnessing in Sindh were particularly strong, and thanked the lawyers for their support.

Afridi’s remarks came at the end of his visit to Sindh, during which he criticised the PPP government over restrictions imposed during his movement in Karachi and the alleged removal of a PTI flag from a female party worker near Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum.