PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Sohail Afridi, addressing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s massive public gathering in Peshawar, announced a march towards Islamabad on September 27.
He said the movement would pursue two principal demands. He said the first demand was that the cases against former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife be taken up for hearing without delay and decided in accordance with justice. The second demand, he said, was the immediate restoration of access for Imran Khan and his wife to their lawyers, doctors, family members and party leaders.
“If justice is delivered, Imran Khan can be released within thirty minutes. If justice is denied, the nation will march towards Islamabad on September 27,” Sohail Afridi declared, adding, “We seek justice, not charity. Justice must be delivered.”
He maintained that the return of Imran Khan would restore peace, economic progress and prosperity to Pakistan. Welcoming participants who had travelled from across the country, Sohail Afridi paid tribute to the massive turnout and thanked supporters for their unwavering commitment to Imran Khan. He stated that the day marked three years since Imran Khan’s “abduction,” adding that people across Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had taken to the streets in support of the former prime minister.
“The sea of people gathered today demonstrates that Imran Khan remains Pakistan’s most popular leader,” he said.
Referring to the intense summer heat, Sohail Afridi urged participants to reflect on the conditions under which Imran Khan had spent the past three years in prison. He said Imran Khan could have continued to live a life of comfort but instead chose imprisonment and hardship for the sake of Pakistan.
The Chief Minister further stated that Imran Khan had refused to bow before foreign powers and had consistently championed the rights of Muslims while speaking against Islamophobia on international platforms. He maintained that the 26th and 27th Constitutional Amendments had crippled the judiciary. He further claimed that whenever Imran Khan’s sisters visited him, they were subjected to mistreatment, including having poisonous water thrown at them, and that the entire family continued to endure hardships.
He also maintained that Imran Khan is in prolonged solitary confinement. Sohail Afridi clarified that Imran Khan had been removed from office through an externally backed conspiracy aided by internal traitors because he had declared “Absolutely Not” to foreign dictates. Turning to the economy, he said Pakistan achieved GDP growth of 6.1 percent during Imran Khan’s tenure despite the global COVID-19 pandemic, whereas current growth remained around 3 percent despite favourable circumstances.
He further maintained that following the regime change of April 9, 2022, the country had been placed under the control of “thieves and looters,” resulting in Pakistan moving from a path of development to one of decline. He also said that the IMF had reported corruption amounting to Rs 5,300 billion by the federal government but that no accountability had followed. “The only leader who stood against corruption is the one who has been imprisoned,” he added.
Sohail Afridi further alleged that following the regime change orchestrated through internal traitors and an external conspiracy, militants had been resettled, pushing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa once again into insecurity and bloodshed. He said that today Pashtuns, Baloch, Kashmiris and Punjabis alike were suffering from injustice and insecurity.
The Chief Minister described the present system as “fascist,” accusing it of having become indifferent to the lives and safety of ordinary Pakistanis. He also stated that young people were being martyred through fighter aircraft operations and drone strikes, contrasting the situation with the peace experienced during Imran Khan’s government between 2018 and 2022. Sohail Afridi said Imran Khan remained in prison waiting for his nation to fight his cause. Actors making decisions behind closed doors are acting as mercenaries serving foreign interests.
He further maintained that the incumbent rulers had damaged Pakistan’s relations with neighbouring Iran, Afghanistan and China. He said a handful of political families had continued to exploit Pakistan for decades and called upon the public to stand against them.
Calling for public mobilisation, Sohail Afridi said the people must become the voice of judges who are unable to dispense justice and the strength of a media that can no longer report the truth freely. He said state institutions, the judiciary and journalists were now looking towards the citizens of Pakistan.
“When institutions are paralysed and justice is denied in the courts, what option remains for the people?” he asked.
Sohail Afridi said the public would now fight its case on the streets, standing against oppression and tyranny. Invoking the examples of Muhammad bin Qasim and Tariq bin Ziyad, he urged supporters to demonstrate courage and determination in their struggle.
Addressing young people directly, he said, “Some call you cockroaches, but I call you the Shaheens of Allama Iqbal.” He added that the people would have to secure justice themselves. He asked supporters whether they feared bullets, tanks or rockets, declaring that if they did not, he would lead them from the front. Sohail Afridi said striving for constitutional and democratic rights was the duty of every citizen. He maintained that plans were now underway to impose a new generation of the same corrupt political families upon Pakistan, declaring that the people have rejected dynastic politics.
The Chief Minister said every constitutional, legal and judicial forum had been approached without obtaining justice. He maintained that no option remained other than exercising the constitutional right to peaceful protest, culminating in the announced march to Islamabad on September 27.
