Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi speaks to media representatives in Lahore on December 27, 2025.
PESHAWAR:
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Saturday criticized the government for running a system of “oppression and fascism”, saying such orders could build roads but never nations.
He stressed that genuine nation-building was only possible when the rich and the poor were governed by the same law and the same system of justice.
Addressing a two-day health awareness conference organized by Pakistan Medical Association in Peshawar, which he attended as chief guest, the prime minister said KP was the only province in the country that provided free healthcare coverage to its entire population.
He compared it to Punjab, where he said the free healthcare program launched by former prime minister and party supremo Imran Khan had been discontinued.
Afridi said the provincial government would increase allocations for the nutrition sector in the next fiscal year’s budget, highlighting that health and education were directly related to public well-being and were therefore being prioritized for investment.
Expanding on governance, the Prime Minister said systemic change cannot be achieved by individuals acting alone and requires collective responsibility. He stressed that each individual must be aware of his duties and added that evading responsibility also falls within the definition of corruption. He said the provincial government was working to make governance and service delivery systems more effective and transparent, adding that accountability and efficiency were critical to restoring public trust.
“In systems of oppression and fascism, only roads are built, not nations. Nations are built when there is a law and a system of justice for both the rich and the poor.”
He added that the fight to dismantle separate systems for the privileged and the disadvantaged had already begun.
The Prime Minister said that the movement started alongside Imran Khan continued in full force and promised that collective efforts would be made to transform Pakistan into a truly strong State envisioned by national poet Allama Iqbal and founding father Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
He also paid tribute to former Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid, saying the courage and resilience with which she faced her circumstances was admirable. “Dr Yasmin Rashid has already fought her part of the battle,” he said, adding that “she is now fighting our part of the fight.”
