‘This is not just an attack on institutions, the entire country is paying the price’
KARACHI:
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday said the repeated denial of access to jailed party founder Imran Khan had left him no option but to resort to protest politics, warning that the Constitution and the rule of law were being openly violated across the country.
At a ceremony held at the Sindh High Court (SHC), Afridi said he wanted to meet his party leader but his pleas had not been heard. “When one’s back is against the wall, protest remains the only option,” he said, adding that protest politics was only carried out when there was no constitutional avenue left.
He said Imran Khan was leading the fight for “real freedom” and remained Pakistan’s most popular leader. However, he regretted that Imran was jailed without even being granted meetings, despite court orders.
According to Afridi, three judges of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had allowed him to meet Imran Khan, but the jail superintendent ignored the orders. He said this was not a personal insult but a serious lack of respect for the judiciary and the legal profession.
He added that after taking over as chief minister, he had written letters to the chief minister, Punjab chief minister and the chief justice, but did not receive any response from any level.
“This is not just an attack on institutions, the entire country is paying the price,” he said, warning that justice was being reduced to a commodity while national assets were sold.
“Justice thrown into the trash can”
In an official statement issued by the Office of the Press Secretary of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Afridi said that the Constitution and the law were being blatantly violated.
“On the one hand, national assets are being sold and, on the other, justice has been reduced to a commodity and court orders are openly thrown into the trash can. The nation’s most popular leader remains in jail and the Constitution is being trampled through the use of force.”
He said that unless the judiciary was free and lawyers were united, Pakistan could not move forward as a constitutional and democratic State.
Afridi expressed these views while addressing the Sindh High Court Bar Council during his visit to Sindh. The last day of the visit began with a visit to the mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, where he offered Fateha and laid a wreath.
Later, addressing the Bar Council, he thanked the lawyers for the warm welcome and described the people of Sindh as brave, courageous and hospitable.
However, he regretted that the present Sindh government had not respected the guests and had even compromised the dignity of Sindhi cultural symbols like the Ajrak and the Sindhi cap.
