22 Years of Military operations, drone strikes failed to end terrorism: Sohail Afridi

KOHAT : Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Sohail Afridi, addressing Long March participants at University Chowk in Kohat before his departure, said that the era of illegitimate, imposed and mandate-stealing rulers was coming to an end and “our time is beginning.” Thanking the people of Kohat for their support, he paid tribute to their spirit, resolve and patriotism, saying that this was the very spirit and patriotism that had always been targeted. “My young people, your Chief Minister is afraid of no one, and the people of my Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are afraid of no one,” he said.

He said that Imran Khan had to be brought out of prison and restored as Prime Minister. “When Imran Khan becomes Prime Minister, there will be development as well as prosperity,” he said, adding that peace had prevailed in the province from 2018 to 2022 and that Imran Khan had not been serving anyone’s interests. The Chief Minister said he had released the draft of the Long March demands on social media and challenged the entire country and the international community to identify even one of the seven demands that was unconstitutional or unlawful. “If even one demand is proved to be unconstitutional or unlawful, I will cancel the Long March immediately,” he said.

He said the demand for Imran Khan’s medical treatment was not unconstitutional, nor was the demand for meetings with him or his release through due process of justice. “Why are the judges afraid? Why are the judges not hearing the cases? If the cases are heard, Imran Khan will be out within an hour,” he said. Muhammad Sohail Afridi said Imran Khan had committed no crime and that, if he remained imprisoned, the reason was that he had told the powerful in Pakistan and around the world, “Absolutely Not.” He said those opposed to Imran Khan feared his popularity and had even imposed restrictions on the use of his name and image in the national media.

“They are so timid, fearful and manipulative that they will never allow our leader to come out,” he said. The Chief Minister said reports were now emerging that Imran Khan’s health had deteriorated again. “Imran Khan’s health is being played with. If anything happens to him, the jail administration, the Prime Minister and all other responsible officials will be directly responsible,” he said. He said the courts operated on taxpayers’ money, as did the assemblies and state institutions. “If these institutions are funded by the people, then governance must also belong to the people. If the courts do not deliver justice, the people will take to the streets to seek justice,” he said. He said the people had decided to come out onto the streets.

“When the entire province and the country come out, no one will have a place to hide,” he said. Explaining why the Long March had become necessary, Muhammad Sohail Afridi said that since assuming office as Chief Minister, he had knocked on every door and exhausted every democratic, constitutional and legal avenue. “I kept asking: tell me, what other option is left for me?” he said. He said he had repeatedly raised the issue through the media, asking what option remained when even his efforts to secure a meeting with Imran Khan at Adiala Jail had failed.

He said, “I telephoned the fake Prime Minister imposed upon us and asked him to arrange a meeting with my leader, Imran Khan. He said he would ask and let me know, but the meeting never took place,” he said. The Chief Minister said the Provincial Assembly subsequently passed a resolution calling for his meeting with Imran Khan, but no progress was made. He said he also approached the Chief Justice of Pakistan, but received no relief. He further said that the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court did not even deem it appropriate to acknowledge his greeting. He said three High Court judges ordered that he be allowed to meet Imran Khan, but those orders were not implemented.

Similarly, he said, three Supreme Court judges ordered that Imran Khan be provided medical treatment at Shifa International Hospital, but that order was also not implemented. Muhammad Sohail Afridi said that when justice was not available from the very institutions from which it was expected, and all avenues had been exhausted, the Constitution provided the right to peaceful protest. “We have started our peaceful protest from the southern region. We will register our protest peacefully and according to the constitution,” he said. He said his government had always maintained that political problems should be resolved through dialogue and negotiations. “Political negotiations were taking place, and there they were thinking about trading the lives and interests of Pashtuns to save their own positions.I condemn such a position of power,” he said.

The Chief Minister said, “A deal over the lives and interests of Pashtuns was unacceptable before, is unacceptable today, and will never be acceptable.” Turning to the issue of terrorism, Muhammad Sohail Afridi said the people wanted their problems to be addressed through a policy of the provincial government. “I am presenting that policy. For 22 years, there have been repeated military operations and drone strikes, but terrorism has not been eliminated. Your failed policy has failed to end terrorism. I am presenting a policy through which peace can be established within 100 days,” he said. He said, “This is my province and these are my people.

They have sacrificed more than 80,000 lives for Pakistan.” The Chief Minister also referred to remarks attributed to the Punjab Chief Minister that Punjab faced no threat from India but faced threats from the other three provinces. He said attempts would be made to provoke the people into disorder, but urged them to remain peaceful. Muhammad Sohail Afridi said the original plan was to proceed towards Peshawar, but the Long March would now first proceed towards Khyber and then towards Peshawar.

He said that when the date of the Long March was changed from September 27 to October 4, everyone had witnessed where press conferences were held. “They were troubled when we changed the date from September 27 to October 4, and now they are troubled by the Test match,” he said. He said that once they decided to march to Islamabad, no power would be able to stop them.

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