RAWALPINDI: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Sohail Afridi, while talking to the media outside Adiala Jail, said that he had come to meet the party’s founding chairman Imran Khan for which the provincial government had formally sent a letter to the federal and Punjab governments requesting permission for the meeting; however, no response was received so far.
He expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for contacting him yesterday to offer congratulations on assuming the charge of the chief ministership, and said he had told the Prime Minister that “political differences should not affect the people of the province.” The Chief Minister said that as the head of the provincial government, it was essential for him to meet his party leader, and therefore, the meeting should be facilitated.
“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a province of 45 million people, and I am their elected representative,” he added. Afridi said the Prime Minister had assured him that he would look into the matter and inform him, but no response had been received yet.
He reiterated that the provincial government would pursue all constitutional and legal means to secure a meeting with the party chairman. “We have always acted within the framework of law and the Constitution, and if needed, we will do so again,” he emphasized.
Addressing to a question about the removal of Quaid-e-Azam’s portrait and the national flag from his office, the Chief Minister categorically rejected them as false and baseless propaganda.
“This is the propaganda of our opponents, who only see Quaid-e-Azam’s image on currency notes, not in offices,” he remarked. He clarified that both the national flag and Quaid-e-Azam’s portrait were displayed in his office. He further said that during Independence Day celebrations on August 14, everyone had seen whose images were featured on the official flex banners.
