Afridi warns of 'unprecedented' reaction if governor's rule imposed in K-P

Says PTI never refused negotiations, 'if govt wants to hold talks we are ready'

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi warned on Saturday that the public reaction would be "unprecedented" if governor's rule were imposed on the province, saying neither governor's rule nor disqualification was something the government could "afford."

"Government means nothing to me, I am a soldier of Imran Khan," Afridi told senior journalists in Peshawar, adding that if he ceased to be the K-P chief minister, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder would decide his replacement.

CM Afridi’s statement came amid reports that the federal government was considering governor’s rule or other legal options for the K-P government, as the interior minister warned PTI against a long march towards Islamabad and said the government was consulting the Law Ministry on legal options, including imposing governor’s rule, amid the security situation.

During today's media talk, CM Afridi said that "if the chair comes between me and my objective, I will kick it away."

Turning to PTI's planned march, which was initially to start on September 27 but was postponed to October 4, CM Afridi said preparations were complete, and that the convoy would "return only upon achieving real freedom."

"We are not an armed group, we are political people," the chief minister said.

He also noted that the party had never refused negotiations, stating, "Seven days remain until the long march; if they want to hold talks, they should hold them now." "We were ready for talks yesterday, and we are ready today as well," the chief minister added.

Read: Afridi says police must fight terrorism

Regarding the postponement of the march, the chief minister stated that it had been "a matter of strategy." He noted, however, "We have to march no matter what; preparations are complete."

CM Afridi also warned against any "misadventure," saying the party could set out even before October 4 in such an event.

Regarding the September 27 call, he noted that PTI had been "approaching every institution for nine months" without a hearing, which was why it was forced to issue the call. "There are court orders for weekly meetings," he said, regarding Imran, which he argued were not being implemented.

CM Afridi further alleged that the country was being run according to the policy of "one man," whose representative was Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. He added that nothing could be done against the "establishment's narrative," while also taking aim at the federal information minister's statement, which he said was meant to brand him as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's "B-team." The statement, CM Afridi said, was pre-planned.

Further, the chief minister said "unnecessary disputes" were being created with Afghanistan, and that the closure of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border had caused a loss of Rs7 billion this year, against an expected annual revenue of Rs10 billion if the border remained open.

Read More: Afridi calls for review of anti-terror policy

"Despite restrictions on people coming from there, infiltration is still occurring," he added, noting that "good relations with Afghanistan are in our interest." The chief minister said the province had prepared and shared a provincial action plan with the relevant authorities, and called for talks with Afghanistan to be held through a national jirga, saying Kabul had no choice but to sit with Pakistan.

The chief minister's remarks came a day after he confirmed that PTI's long march to Islamabad would kick off from Peshawar on October 4 instead of the previous September 27 date.

Afridi said all matters had been discussed in the political committee meeting and described the decision to defer the march as part of the party’s “political strategy”, further adding that negotiations would continue even after the march.

The PTI had announced last month that it would march to Islamabad on September 27 to press for the release of party founder Imran. The party had been preparing a central convoy from K-P, with caravans from other parts of the country expected to join before proceeding towards the federal capital. The federal government warned the party against going ahead with the march.