PESHAWAR: The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sohail Afridi, declared that any sort of offensive against Pakistan, if it would come from Afghanistan, too, would be given a strong answer.
Talking to the press casually in Peshawar, the CM Afridi said that he was not appointed through support against anyone but rather to make the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution prevail. He further stated that every move of his government would be made within the confines of the Constitution and that peaceful protest was their right if justice was denied.
Afridi stressed that the province is everyone’s and admitted that the former government had shortcomings. “We are fighting our battles in the courts, and if justice is not served, we will protest peacefully,” he assured.
In reference to the recent skirmishes on the border, Afridi remarked,
“Whoever attacks Pakistan even Afghanistan will be met with a strong and proportionate response. We are with our army in standing up to any aggressor.”
CM Afridi pointed out that about 800,000 Afghan refugees had already gone back to their country, while 1.2 million were still in Pakistan.
“We will return them with honor. They have been living here for quite a while, and they deserve a nice and respectful departure,” he opined.
The Chief Minister made it clear that he was not only managing the administration but also facilitating thorough transformation. He suggested that he would be talking to the party leaders if he could not have a meeting with PTI’s founder Imran Khan to end the cabinet talks.
Moreover, Afridi revealed that he mailed a letter to the Chief Justice and presented a petition to the High Court that would be re-filed on Monday once the objections were solved.
As for his cabinet, Afridi said:
“The cabinet will consist only of those approved by the founder of PTI. He has put forward Muzzammil Aslam, so far.
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He explained that as a party worker and a Chief Minister, he was only responsible to Imran Khan.
Speaking about the arrests, Afridi mentioned that no political worker should be arrested. He pointed out the case of Sanam Javed, saying that even though a report had come in, he was still not content and would ask for another review.
