ISLAMABAD: The newly elected Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sohail Afridi, has made a controversial decision to reportedly take down the national flag of Pakistan and put up the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) flag in his office. This was stated by Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, who took Afridi’s actions to task in a statement that was disseminated through X (formerly Twitter).
تحریک انصاف کے kpk کےنو منتخب وزیر اعلی نے اپنے دفتر میں پاکستان کے پرچم کی جگہ تحریک انصاف کا پرچم کو دے دی قائد اعظم کی تصویر کی جگہ عمران خان کی تصویر نے لے لی۔ پی ٹی آئی فوج کی قیادت کے خلاف بیان دیتی ھے اور شہداء کے جنازے نہیں پڑھتی_دھشت گردی کی مذمت سے گریز کرتی ھے اور…
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) October 16, 2025
Khawaja Asif has further pointed out that the picture of Pakistan’s founding father, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, has been substituted with that of PTI president Imran Khan. In addition, Asif accused the PTI leadership of being anti-army, pro-terrorism, and even uncooperative in the fight against terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In his post, the Defense Minister doubted the PTI’s patriotism and posed the question whether their loyalty to Pakistan was based on power only.
“Is PTI’s patriotism tied to holding political office? Would they attack the federal government if national policies don’t align with their interests?” Asif asked.
He pointed out that true love for the country is connected with its values and is based on the acknowledgment of the sacrifices made by the nation’s martyrs.
Asif also cautioned the PTI leaders not to consider the martyrs who died fighting for the country, and not the ones who avoided the funerals, their teachers in the matter of patriotism. He said, “The martyrs who laid down their lives for the country are the true embodiment of patriotism.”
On the other hand, KP’s Chief Minister Sohail Afridi while giving a separate media interview in Rawalpindi responded to the allegations by saying his party PTI would take all the constitutional and legal measures to get in touch with their leaders. Afridi further endorsed the right to peaceful protest, saying that when courts fail to deliver justice, peaceful protest becomes their right in the legal sense.
ALSO READ: ‘Pakistan comes first, then everything else,’ says CM Afridi
Afridi has once again reaffirmed his loyalty to the PTI’s ideology by stating that he has been working since the day he took office for the release of the party’s founder, Imran Khan. “Pakistan will always be our first priority, and we will continue to walk the path of our leader, Imran Khan,” was his statement.
Afridi stressed that the party would not change its commitment to the nation’s welfare. “We rank Pakistan at the top of the list, and all other matters come next,” he wrapped up.
