PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi plans to tour Sindh and Balochistan after recently concluding a three-day visit to Lahore, Punjab, as part of the PTI street movement.
Shafi Jan, special assistant to the CM on information, said Afridi will meet party workers and leaders to mobilise support for upcoming protests. He briefed the media after a cabinet meeting in Peshawar.
Jan said the PTI delegation, led by Afridi and including provincial ministers and assembly members, achieved its objectives in Punjab. He claimed that the Punjab government restricted the public from carrying PTI flags in Lahore.
Despite the restrictions, Jan said the public reception in Punjab showed strong support for the PTI. He criticised authorities for denying Afridi permission to visit party workers’ homes in cantonment areas.
Jan condemned what he called discriminatory treatment of the KP chief minister during the visit. He alleged that roads were blocked, arrests were made, and members of the Christian community celebrating Christmas were detained.
He also accused the Punjab information minister of restricting journalists while allowing select social media personalities into the provincial assembly. Jan said Afridi ordered an inquiry into the alleged extrajudicial killing of two Swat residents in Gujranwala.
During the cabinet meeting, Afridi complained about delays in federal funding under the Accelerated Implementation Programme. He said the shortfall had badly affected development projects in the merged tribal districts.
The chief minister claimed the federal government owed KP Rs4.758 trillion. He demanded transparency in inter-provincial fiscal releases and directed provincial departments to seek written responses from the Centre on outstanding payments.
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The cabinet approved several initiatives. These include the establishment of general and family takaful companies, funding for Safe Cities projects, educational and development grants, and compensation packages for flood victims and war-affected families. It also endorsed internship programmes and institutional reforms across the province.
