Afridi rejects threats, vows to stand firm

PTI defends K-P govt against Centre's terrorism allegations

PESHAWAR/LAHORE:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said on Monday that he was not afraid of threats of governor's rule or an emergency and would not retreat from his position, as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) hit back at criticism of the provincial government by the federal information minister.

Addressing a meeting in Peshawar, Afridi said the Centre's current policy was wrong and had resulted in the bloodshed of Pashtuns once again. "The policy of once again pushing Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa into the fire of terrorism is unacceptable," he said.

The remarks by Afridi followed statements from several federal ministers, including Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, who spoke of the possibility of governor's rule in K-P, while accusing the provincial government of failing to address the worsening terrorism and governance problems.

Later, in a statement issued by the party's Central Media Department on X, the PTI rejected Atta Tarar's criticism of the K-P government and urged him to focus on the performance of the federal and Punjab governments instead of "levelling allegations" against the province.

"Tarar should remember that the people of K-P stand on the front lines against terrorism, and the PTI will never forget the sacrifices of its martyrs," it said. "The minister should first take a hard look at his own performance at the federal level and in Punjab, and then lecture the people of K-P," it added.

The party also rebuked Tarar for labelling the entire provincial government as facilitators of terrorists and asked him to explain the basis for the allegation. The statement said the people of K-P, police, security personnel and political workers had made the greatest sacrifices in the war against terrorism.

The party cited the killing of its provincial law and parliamentary affairs minister Israrullah Gandapur in a suicide attack in Dera Ismail Khan on October 16, 2013, as evidence of the sacrifices made by its representatives. Gandapur was among at least eight people killed in the attack at his residence.

"PTI workers, elected representatives, police and ordinary citizens have given countless sacrifices against terrorism," it said, urging political leaders to avoid political point-scoring over the issue. It said the security situation in the province required federal-provincial cooperation rather than political confrontation.

"The war against terrorism continues in K-P, and the province's people and police are giving sacrifices. In such circumstances, it is a national responsibility for the federal minister to cooperate with the province instead of levelling accusations," the statement said.

Meanwhile, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja questioned the detention of party founder Imran Khan's sisters, saying they were being deprived of fundamental rights without any specific charges and urging the courts to order their immediate release.

Talking to the media outside the Lahore High Court (LHC), Raja questioned the justification for the treatment being meted out to Khan's sisters. He added that detentions under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) were based on apprehensions rather than formal charges.

Raja further claimed that excessive force had been used during the arrests, alleging that more than 100 police officials entered the residence and broke doors. He said such actions crossed "all limits of brutality and authoritarianism".