Bhutto's legacy still visible in Sindh, says KP CM during three-day visit

• Sohail Afridi to meet Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah: Shafi Jan.
• KP CM's aide says Afridi will also travel to Hyderabad.
• CM Afridi to visit prison facilities, meet inmates in Karachi.
  

KARACHI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Friday said that the legacy of former prime ministers Benzir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was still visible in Sindh as he began his three-day visit to province as part of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) street mobilisation movement.

From the airport, the KP chief minister reached Karachi Press Club in six hours along with large crowd of party supporters.

Speaking to journalists at the press club, Afridi said that said he had also visited Punjab but was not treated well there.

“In Lahore, wherever we went to eat, the market would be shut,” Afridi said, questioning where the Constitution barred a chief minister from engaging in politics in another province.

Commenting on Sindh, the chief minister said the legacy of Benazir Bhutto and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was still visible in the province. He added that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had assured him of cooperation during his visit to Karachi. He said that if the Sindh chief minister visited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he would be accorded full respect and hospitality.

Afridi said welfare initiatives, including programmes under Ehsaas, were ongoing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, providing free medical treatment of up to Rs2 million to citizens. He alleged that the federation was not releasing the province’s due share of funds.

The chief minister said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was producing the cheapest electricity in the country, benefiting all of Pakistan. He added that if the province received funds according to its constitutional rights, it would have progressed more than other provinces.

Afridi said only a party with 17 seats was sitting in the federal government, alleging that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was being treated unfairly. He claimed that while other provinces had received their NFC shares from 2018 to 2025, KP had not.

Upon arrival at Karachi airport, the KP CM was welcomed by Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) Saeed Ghani at the airport who presented him with Sindhi topi and Ajrak.

"I will hold a rally at Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi at 4:30pm on Sunday," said CM Afridi in a message ahead of his Sindh visit which has commenced after he landed at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport today.

The KP chief minister said he will spread the message of jailed PTI founder Imran Khan to every nook and corner of Sindh and urged the people of Sindh to extend all-out support to the PTI in the preparations of street movement. "We will hold largest rally in Karachi's history," CM Afridi said.

However, contrary to the KP CM's announcement, the district administration has said that no permission has been given to the PTI yet to hold a public rally.

Permission to hold a rally will be granted after security clearance is received, added the administration.

Meanwhile, KP CM's aide on information, Shafi Jan said that CM Afridi will also meet Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah on Monday (January 12), and will also hold meetings with party leadership at the Insaf House, followed by a visit to the press club during his stay in Sindh.

"A big rally will be held at the Mazar-e-Quaid on January 11. [KP] CM's visit to Sindh is important to further accelerate the street movement," Jan remarked.

The powershow announcement came as the PTI has requested permission for holding a public meeting in District East of Karachi, reported The News.

On Tuesday, Karachi Region PTI President Raja Azhar sent a letter to the deputy commissioner of District East, seeking permission for organising a public gathering at Bagh-e-Jinnah near the Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum, assuring that the rally would be peaceful and the code of conduct would be fully observed.

The former ruling party is part of the opposition alliance Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen-Pakistan (TTAP), which has called for street mobilisation linked to the second anniversary of the February 8, 2024, elections.

A day earlier, TTAP leaders Chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Vice Chairman Senator Allama Raja Nasir Abbas reached Lahore on a three-day visit to attend political activities in relation to the street movement.

Expanding on KP CM's Sindh visit, Jan said that CM Afridi will visit prison facilities in Karachi's District South, Korangi and Malir to meet inmates.

CM Afridi will also travel to Hyderabad on Saturday (tomorrow) and will meet address the Hyderabad Bar and press club and will further attend ISF Convention, party cabinet on the same day.

Jan added that apart from meeting Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), the KP CM will also address the Sindh High Court Bar on Monday, and will leave for Peshawar on the same day.

CM Afridi 's visit to Sindh follows his early visit to Punjab, which was marred by controversy surrounding the ruckus at the Punjab Assembly where the authorities claimed that unrelated and convicted individuals entered the premises alongside him.

Whereas Afridi, on the other hand, voiced serious concern over the chaos and lodged a protest with Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz over the alleged ill-treatment. 

Sindh govt assures facilitation

Meanwhile, speaking on KP CM's visit on Geo News' programme "Geo Pakistan" today, Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon said that the provincial government will ensure free movement of CM Afridi and welcome him.

"KP CM will have full liberty to go wherever he wants [during Sindh visit] and take part in political activities," Memon said, while adding that the dignitary will be provided due security and protocol.

When asked about repercussions of possible political activities, such as traffic jams, the Sindh minister said that the provincial government's stance is that the PTI should inform them about their political activities, and if needed, they would be provided ground to hold any public gathering.

However, Memon warned against any activity contrary to the law or which causes nuisance for the public.

"[KP CM] can undertake whatever activities he wishes while adhering to the law," he remarked.

Pointing out the ideological differences with the PTI, Memon said that criticism is part of politics, but it should not result in intolerance.

PM's aide warns of FIRs

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah claimed that the PTI was not in a position to launch any street movement, warning that its planned wheel-jam strike on February 8 was illegal and would not be allowed under the law.

The PM's aide, speaking on Geo News programme "Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath", said that the Imran Khan-founded party wanted to paralyse traffic on February 8, but such a strike had no legal cover.

He cautioned that if the party resorted to any disruptive actions, it would face legal consequences, including the registration of FIRs, and would later have no grounds for complaint.

He went on to say that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister was himself engaged in unlawful activities, adding that his travel was illegal. He maintained that there was no possibility of success for PTI's protest movement.

He said there was no objection to PTI's political activities in Karachi; however, he made it clear that the Sindh government would not grant permission for any wheel-jam strike.