PTI workers greet Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on arrival in Interior Sindh to garner support for PTI street movement and Sept 27 long march.
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has said the people of interior Sindh have demonstrated their firm support for PTI founding chairman Imran Khan, declaring September 27 to be a decisive day in the ongoing political struggle.
The chief minister made these remarks while leading rallies as part of preparations for PTI street movement in Shikarpur, Shahdadkot, Larkana and Naushehro Feroze on Friday.
Mr Afridi said the overwhelming public response to the rallies had demonstrated that the people of interior Sindh stood firmly by Imran Khan. He said a false and misleading political narrative had been imposed for decades that only one political party enjoyed the support of the people of interior Sindh.
He said the response witnessed across interior Sindh had challenged that narrative, with the people of Sindh demonstrating their political strength and political choice.
Addressing a rally in interior Sindh, the KP chief minister said the people had made it clear that their affection and political affiliation with Imran Khan remained unparalleled. He described the enthusiasm and determination displayed across Sindh as the movement’s core political strength ahead of the decisive struggle on September 27.
“The public voice emerging from Shikarpur must resonate across Sindh and throughout Pakistan,” he said.
Sohail Afridi said that the people across Sindh and the rest of the country would take to the streets on September 27 to assert their political rights, defend their fundamental rights and stand for genuine freedom. He said the unprecedented mobilisation witnessed in interior Sindh was a clear indication of the political force that would emerge on September 27.
The chief minister said that all attempts to break Imran Khan or intimidate the public had failed, adding that the PTI founder remained steadfast in his position despite sustained pressure.
“Imran Khan is not looking towards the rulers or powerful elites but towards the people of Pakistan. Imran Khan’s struggle is not about his person or political power. He is fighting for the freedom of Pakistan and for the future of our coming generations,” the chief minister said.
He asked the people whether they were prepared to defend their future, stressing that the answer would ultimately be determined by the people of Pakistan themselves.
Sohail Afridi also criticised the 26th and 27th Constitutional Amendments, saying they had rendered state institutions, particularly the judiciary, ineffective.
He said the courts had permitted meetings with Imran Khan and authorised his treatment at Shifa International Hospital in the presence of his family members and personal physicians. However, he alleged that the imposed rulers had disregarded the court orders.
According to the chief minister, the disregard for judicial decisions demonstrated that the rulers did not respect the Constitution, the law or the authority of the courts.
“When judicial orders are not implemented and the rule of law is applied selectively, the people are left with no option but to raise their voice for their constitutional and political rights,” he said.
Sohail Afridi said that Pakistan did not belong only to a handful of political families, sardars, landlords or entrenched elites, adding that the country and its resources belonged to its people.
He alleged that corrupt rulers were looting public wealth and acquiring properties and islands abroad, while ordinary citizens continued to struggle for their fundamental rights and access to the country’s resources.
“Corrupt rulers are trampling on the rights of the people, plundering national resources and usurping the people’s rights,” he said.
“Sardars, waderas and entrenched elites will never want ordinary people to become empowered, because an empowered public represents the greatest threat to their political interests,” he said.
Sohail Afridi said his government was committed to opening the doors of politics to ordinary citizens.
“I come from the middle class, and Imran Khan made me the chief minister. This proves that anyone of you can become a chief minister in this country,” he said.
The chief minister said that the handful of political families that had controlled power for generations did not want ordinary citizens to move forward because their model of politics was based not on empowering the people but on using them to advance their own interests.
Sohail Afridi said the politics of fear could no longer continue. He said the imposed rulers would attempt to intimidate and threaten the people and prevent them from coming out to demand their rights, but the people would not be deterred. – compiled from dispatches / news agencies / wire services
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