Afridi vows not to leave Sindh without launching street movement in Karachi

Accuses PPP of roadblocks, urges Sindh residents to join Sept 27 mobilisation

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Sunday vowed to reach Karachi and launch a street movement in the city, saying he would not leave Sindh until the objective was achieved.

“If we cannot reach Karachi today, then, InshaAllah, we will hold the rally tomorrow; if not tomorrow, then the day after. Without carrying out a street movement in Karachi, I will not take a single step out of Sindh. Until the goal is achieved, I am right here,” Afridi said, speaking to the media while travelling to Karachi after holding a rally in Hyderabad.

He criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government over alleged road blockades, saying the PTI was being welcomed on social media while obstacles were being created in its way.

“I have already told Bilawal that if they are not doing all this on your directives, then tell us who is. Bring the names forward, then we will go,” he said.

پنجاب کی جعلی وزیراعلیٰ جسے پنجاب کی عوام نے ریجیکٹ کیا ہوا ہے، وہ دیگر 3 صوبوں کے حوالے سے ایسے بیانات دیتی ہیں کہ مجھے ان سے خطرہ ہے، بھارت سے نہیں۔ یہ ہمیشہ پاکستان کو تقسیم کرنے کی سازش کا حصہ بنتے ہیں۔

سوشل میڈیا پر ہمارا استقبال کیا جاتا ہے اور دوسری طرف سے راستوں میں… pic.twitter.com/grdlAtXeUf

— PTI (@PTIofficial) September 6, 2026

Referring to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Afridi said the people of Sindh would question him over the alleged blockades, as the government and police were in front of them.

“If the police are not doing this, then remove the police from the front and let whoever is doing it come forward,” he said.

Responding to a question about his rally in Karachi, Afridi said the PTI would hold the event regardless of the obstacles.

Later, in a post on X, the PTI dismissed Bilawal’s statements as mere “theatrics”, arguing that the situation on the ground presented a different picture.

Bilawal Zardari’s theatrics on Twitter are just that, theatrics.

The reality is, an elected Chief Minister representing 40 million people is being forced to travel on dangerous roads because the “administration” has blocked all the highways leading to Karachi. pic.twitter.com/HFXTGoyy94

— PTI (@PTIofficial) September 6, 2026

“Bilawal Zardari’s theatrics on Twitter are just that, theatrics,” the party said.

“The reality is, an elected chief minister representing 40 million people is being forced to travel on dangerous roads because the ‘administration’ has blocked all the highways leading to Karachi,” it added.

Afridi demands Maryam apology over controversial remarks

Earlier, CM Afridi demanded an apology from Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz over her remarks that Punjab faced a greater security threat from the country’s other provinces than from neighbouring countries.

The demand came a day after Maryam made the remarks while addressing an e-launching ceremony of the Artificial Intelligence Hub in Lahore, triggering criticism and concerns over what political parties and critics described as a widening provincial divide.

Afridi, addressing a rally at Haider Chowk in Hyderabad, said the remarks targeting the three smaller provinces were unacceptable and demanded an apology from the Punjab chief minister.

Read: Uproar as CM Maryam's 'chauvinistic' remarks cause controversy over provincial divide

“The fake chief minister who said that she does not face a threat from India but from the three smaller provinces should apologise,” he said.

Afridi also alleged that the public mandate had been “stolen” not only in Hyderabad but across the country.

“Every MPA sitting here is a thief, a robber and a looter. He has stolen your mandate,” he said, referring to those who, according to him, had been elected by depriving people of their electoral mandate.

He said such actions occurred when people came to power through “back doors” and a “fake mandate”, referring to Maryam’s statement that she faced a greater threat from the other three provinces than from India.

He alleged that those who said Pakistan faced no threat from India had business interests in the neighbouring country.

“Jindal is their friend, and Modi comes to their home in Pakistan without a visa,” he alleged.

The chief minister then led the crowd in slogans, including “Modi ka jo yaar hai, ghaddar hai” (whoever is Modi’s friend is a traitor) and “India ka jo yaar hai, ghaddar hai” (whoever is India’s friend is a traitor).

Afridi also criticised the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leadership, alleging that whenever it faced difficult times, it had attacks carried out against state institutions.

“They attack institutions, they attack the Supreme Court, they attack other institutions and promote the enemy’s narrative,” he said.

He added that the PML-N leadership “was neither sincere with Pakistan before, nor is it sincere with Pakistan today, nor will it be sincere with Pakistan tomorrow”.

The chief minister accused the PML-N of stealing public money and taking it abroad, alleging that its leaders had purchased apartments in Avenfield, flats and plazas and acquired land overseas.

“They have always placed their personal interests above national interests,” he said.

Afridi also criticised what he called the concentration of political power in two families, one in Sindh and the other in Punjab.

“In Punjab, first there was Nawaz Sharif, then his brother and now his daughter. Power was not allowed to go outside the family,” he said.

“In Sindh, first there was the grandfather, then his daughter, then her husband and now her son. The entire family is in power,” he added.

Political journey

Speaking about his own political journey, Afridi said PTI founder Imran Khan had selected him and described himself as an ordinary party worker.

“Imran Khan selected me. I am an ordinary worker like you,” he said.

“I, too, used to go to rallies on foot, by bicycle, rickshaw and taxi. Today, Imran has given me the opportunity to become chief minister,” he added.

Afridi said Imran had the courage to give ordinary party workers an opportunity to enter government.

“He has the courage to allow even his ordinary worker to come into power,” he said.

He told the people of Hyderabad that the next opportunity to decide who would govern Pakistan belonged to them.

“The decisions about Pakistan’s future now have to be made by the youth themselves,” he added.

Afridi also called on people to participate in a planned mobilisation on Sept 27, saying they would have to stand not only for Imran but also for Pakistan, its people and their children.

“On Sept 27, we have to stand not only for Imran but for Pakistan, the Pakistani people, ourselves and our children,” he said.

He urged people to come out of their homes on Sept 27 to change the country’s history and destiny.

“On Sept 27, everyone has to come out of their homes to change the history and destiny of Pakistan,” he said.

Calling for resistance against those who sought to suppress people through force, Afridi said: “On Sept 27, get ready to confront those who suppress the people through the force of guns.”

Addressing the people of Hyderabad, he said they should come out on Sept 27 for their own future, that of their children and that of Pakistan.

“Inshallah, the 30-year political monopoly in Sindh will end and a government of Pakistan and justice will come,” he said.

PTI protests road blockades

Earlier, as Afridi was approaching Hyderabad, his routes were allegedly blocked, a move that drew criticism from the PTI.

In a statement, the party strongly condemned what it called attempts to stop the PTI caravan from proceeding from Hyderabad to Karachi, including the blocking of routes and arrests of workers during its ongoing “peaceful political and public outreach campaign” in Sindh.

The PTI described the measures as an “open display of political hypocrisy and fear” on the part of the PPP.

پیپلز پارٹی کی منافقت ایک بار پھر کھل کر سامنے آگئی ایک طرف بلاول ٹویٹ کر کے عوام کے سامنے اچھا بننے کی کوشش کرتا دوسری طرف کراچی میں پولیس کریک ڈاؤن کرکے سینکڑوں پی ٹی آئی کارکنان کو گرفتار کرتی اور سڑکیں کھود کر سیکرٹری جنرل پی ٹی آئی سلمان اکرم راجہ ،وزیراعلی سہیل آفریدی اور… pic.twitter.com/nHJTkXedi2

— PTI (@PTIofficial) September 6, 2026

It alleged that while Bilawal welcomed Afridi and the PTI’s Sindh visit on social media, the Sindh government was having routes blocked by police and arresting PTI workers.

“If the PPP truly believes in democracy and political freedom, then why such fear of PTI’s peaceful political caravan?” the party asked.

The PTI said police deployments, barricades and arrests could not stop its workers and the people of Sindh from exercising their political rights.

It said its leadership had made it clear that the people of Sindh were not “slaves to feudal or dynastic politics” and had the right to welcome leaders of the political party of their choice, raise their issues and express their political opinions.

Instead of tweeting messages of welcome, the PTI said Bilawal should direct the Sindh government to ensure political freedom in practice.

“If the welcome is limited to Twitter while the police arrest workers on the ground, this is not democracy but political sleight of hand,” the statement said.

پاکستان تحریک انصاف نے سندھ میں جاری پرامن سیاسی و عوامی رابطہ مہم کے دوران پی ٹی آئی قافلے کو حیدرآباد سے کراچی جانے سے روکنے، راستے بند کرنے اور کارکنوں کی گرفتاریوں کی شدید مذمت کرتے ہوئے اسے پیپلز پارٹی کی کھلی سیاسی منافقت اور خوف کی علامت قرار دیا ہے۔

ایک طرف بلاول بھٹو…

— PTI (@PTIofficial) September 6, 2026

The PTI demanded the immediate release of all political workers arrested in Hyderabad, Karachi and other parts of Sindh, the opening of routes and an end to obstacles to its political activities.

“The people of Sindh will make their own decisions; neither road blockades nor the fear of arrests will stop them,” the party said, adding that “the power of the people cannot be defeated by administrative tactics”.