Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi. SCREEN CAPTURE
RAWALPINDI/PESHAWAR:
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan on Tuesday approved the formation of a lean and streamlined Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa cabinet, authorizing Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to select his team independently.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Imran Khan in Adiala jail, the PTI founder’s sisters said he had “advised the prime minister to form a cabinet of his own choice, but make it small”.
They added that Imran had instructed party leaders to move the high courts and the Supreme Court against restrictions on meeting him. “These instructions will be conveyed to Salman Akram Raja,” they said.
Uzma Khan said that she had informed Imran about the KP rally, which made him “very happy”.
“We told him everyone was demanding a long march and he laughed,” she said. Uzma added that Imran had not nominated anyone for the cabinet, giving complete discretion to the prime minister. “He has clearly said that he did not propose any name as the choice lies with the CM.”
He further said that Imran had sent a message to Salman Akram Raja, stating that the party’s future communications would be routed through him.
Additionally, Imran expressed concern over the delay in issuance of notifications regarding the appointments of Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to the posts of Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly and Senate respectively.
He said the PTI founder had instructed the party’s lawyers to “immediately file contempt petitions and not leave the high court without securing a hearing date.”
Meanwhile, sources said the PTI parliamentary committee, chaired by Chief Minister Sohaib Afridi at the House of Representatives in Peshawar, had agreed to form an eight-to-ten member cabinet after the upcoming Senate elections.
President Babar Saleem Swati and several MPAs attended the meeting, which finalized the party’s strategy for the October 30 Senate elections.
According to inside sources, Afridi had tried three times to meet Imran but was denied permission. “Now that the green signal has been given, the cabinet will be formed after the Senate elections,” a party source said. The delay was aimed at avoiding discontent among members during the elections, they added.
Later, CM Sohail Afridi announced that he would file a contempt of court petition over the denial of his meeting with Imran Khan despite court orders. Speaking to reporters, Afridi said the decision was taken because the orders of three judges were violated.
“Our leader’s cases are not being heard in the Supreme Court. We urge the judiciary to uphold the rule of law. Our lawyers are with you.”
He said “there is no justice in Pakistan” and that verdicts are handed down “at someone’s behest.”
“The day justice is done, Imran Khan will be free,” Afridi hoped, adding that the judges themselves had admitted interference in their decisions. “If there are judges being held hostage, let the people know so we can free them,” he added.
Afridi said the denial of his meeting with the jailed party supremo did not mean he was out of touch. “Just because I haven’t met with the founder doesn’t mean I’m not getting his messages,” he said.
When a journalist asked why the cabinet had not yet been formed if there was communication, Afridi responded: “The real question is: why am I prevented from meeting him when I hold the mandate of the people?”
