ISLAMABAD/LAHORE:
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Thursday announced that his party will hold a public meeting in Rawalpindi on April 9, highlighting the province’s grievances over federal policies and budget allocations.
Addressing a press conference at KP House Islamabad, Afridi said the provincial government would submit a request to create an NOC for the rally. “If NOC is not granted, each participant will hold the rally at their respective locations,” he added.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is set to raise the political temperature if it is denied permission to hold a rally on April 9, a date the party says marks “a regime operation” in 2022 that led to the overthrow of the government of its now-jailed leader Imran Khan.
According to PTI sources, the party, after exhausting all democratic and legal options, has decided in principle to abandon passivity and adopt a “firmer stance”.
The source stated that this would not be the first time the party has changed course, but added that this time the stakes are at their highest.
The party is fully aware of the “repressive means of the State” to which its leaders will be subjected, especially in Punjab, before the rally, he added.
He further said that the rally would test the leadership of KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, who will have to outdo his predecessor Ali Amin Gandapur, under whose leadership the PTI, even at short notice, had managed to put up decent shows.
The leader said the party has announced that it will hold a rally wherever it stops, if permission to Liaquat Bagh is denied.
However, the true test of leadership would be to hold firm while maximizing the impact of the rally.
He said this effort has been designed to ensure the PTI a place at the top table.
He added that the PTI also decided to partially shift its focus towards other issues faced by the people of the country, after the party’s official narrative, at first glance, was seen to revolve solely around Imran Khan.
When asked if the KP prime minister could take his predecessor’s place, he said that remains to be seen, adding that logistical issues are still under deliberation.
However, a Punjab leader said they were not informed how this effort would be different from previous ones, which ended with even more FIRs against them.
He said the party should refrain from testing its MPs to their absolute limits. He added that they were willing to go to the end for Imran Khan without thinking, but “the undue sacrifices being asked of them are of no benefit to anyone.”
He added that majority of Punjab would not be able to participate in the rally for obvious reasons, so the responsibility will fall squarely on KP.
Meanwhile, meetings with jailed PTI founder Imran Khan remained suspended on Thursday as authorities once again detained party leaders outside Adiala Jail.
