MARDAN: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has responded to the sentencing of the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Bushra Bibi, stating that the lawyers representing the PTI founder are not being heard and that courts are issuing verdicts without due process.
Speaking to the media outside a girls’ cadet college in Mardan, Afridi mentioned that he had just concluded an official engagement when journalists informed him about the development. I have only just learned about this from you. At this stage, I will refrain from making detailed comments, he said.
He urged party workers to remain fully prepared and to take to the field with complete readiness, emphasizing that there is no room for mistakes. We will secure our rights, he stated. However, Afridi added that if the reports were accurate, it would represent a grave injustice. We will move forward strictly in accordance with legal and constitutional avenues, he affirmed.
Afridi expressed that political cases could not intimidate him or his party. We neither fear such tactics nor will we step back, he said, adding that all cases against PTI leaders are politically motivated and that the public is fully aware of the situation.
He further remarked that when courts fail to deliver justice and there is no hearing at the Election Commission, protest becomes the only remaining option. We are not even allowed to meet our leader. In such circumstances, peaceful protest is the constitutional right of every citizen, he stated.
The chief minister emphasized that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would act under the constitutional provision of the right to assembly, ensuring that all protests remain peaceful. Rejecting allegations of engaging in protest politics, Afridi explained that protest becomes inevitable when all other avenues are closed. Peaceful protest is a right that cannot be taken away from us, and we will exercise it under all circumstances, he stressed, adding that the future course of action had already been decided and would be implemented according to plan.
Regarding security issues, Afridi asserted that the public would hold authorities accountable for every life lost in the fight against terrorism. He dismissed allegations related to an IMF report as baseless propaganda, stating that political opponents panic whenever Imran Khan’s name is mentioned. The chief minister also announced that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would neither announce, support, nor participate in any new military operation.
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