KP CM sets Oct 4 for protest march starting

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi formally announced that a protest march would begin from Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat on October 4.

He strongly criticised the Federal government and state policies, saying that those who consider themselves all-knowing were wrong in the past, are wrong today and will remain wrong until they change their policies. In a statement issued on social media, Sohail Afridi said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is Pakistan’s largest and most popular political party, and that the Constitution of Pakistan grants every citizen the fundamental right to peaceful protest.

He said that at 1 p.m. on October 4, a sea of people would begin its journey from Gandi Chowk, Lakki Marwat, which would continue until the Constitution, the rule of law and an independent judiciary were restored. Speaking about the prospects for negotiations, he said PTI’s demands were entirely constitutional and legal, but PTI founder Imran Khan, his family members and party workers were being denied even their legitimate legal rights.

He alleged that those currently clinging to power feared the Pakistani people and were setting the country on fire to protect their rule. Speaking openly about terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sohail Afridi said conducting military operations against one’s own people and displacing them was not a permanent solution to any problem.

He said drone attacks and so-called collateral damage did not reduce terrorism but instead increased it. He added that this was no longer only PTI’s position in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but was also part of decisions signed by representatives of every school of thought and political party at the provincial assembly’s jirga.

He alleged that terrorism had deliberately been imposed on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa again after the regime change, asking who was preventing the weapons purchased for the province from reaching its police and why the police had been forced to rebel. He questioned why peace had not returned to Balochistan if the provincial and federal governments were on the same page.

He said the May 9 incident was a conspiracy, alleging that those who stole the CCTV footage had orchestrated the entire episode, and vowed that they would not allow anyone to do anything similar again.

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