PESHAWAR: A protest was held at Assembly Chowk in Peshawar against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) march, with traders and members of the public expressing strong criticism of the provincial government.
The protesters alleged that the provincial government had failed the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the past 13 years and said they completely rejected its performance. They claimed that inflation had reached an alarming level across the province, while unemployment had also increased significantly.
The protesters further criticized Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, alleging that the province had been heading toward further decline since he assumed office. They accused members of the provincial and national assemblies of remaining focused on their political march instead of addressing the problems faced by the public.
They also claimed that PTI workers who had been arrested had not received adequate attention from the party leadership.
The business community particularly expressed concern over the ongoing political activity, saying that road closures had severely affected trade between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. According to the protesters, billions of rupees worth of business is conducted between the two provinces, and disruptions to transportation routes have caused significant financial losses.
The protesters said traders and ordinary citizens were already struggling under the burden of rising prices and alleged that the provincial government was further ignoring the concerns of the business community.
They also compared the provincial government’s engagement with traders to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s alleged regular meetings with the business community, saying their own efforts to meet the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister had yielded no results despite repeated attempts.
The protesters announced that traders and citizens would unite to launch a broader protest movement against the provincial government. They alleged that members of the National and Provincial Assemblies had also failed to meet with the business community to address their concerns.
The protesters warned that if the government failed to respond to their demands, protests would be expanded across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
