PM Shehbaz congratulates Afridi on assuming KP CM office

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif felicitated Sohail Afridi on Thursday on his election as the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stressing the need for a strong center-proscenium cooperation to achieve national goals.

It was the first telephonic conversation between Prime Minister Shehbaz and CM Afridi after their election to the top post amid political friction between the federation and the province, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-NCSAF (PTI), respectively.

“The Center is ready to work with you [KP government] for Pakistan’s interests,” the prime minister told the newly elected chief minister, who was sworn in a day earlier and succeeded Ali Amin Gandpur.

In response, Prime Minister Afridi expressed gratitude for Prime Minister Shehbaz’s gesture when the latter congratulated him on assuming office.

Afridi said he told the premier that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa represents a population of 45 million people and requested permission to meet his party leader.

Talking to reporters in Rawalpindi, the CM said that he has written a letter to the federal and Punjab governments, seeking permission to meet the PTI founder in Adiala Jail, but so far there has been no response.

“The prime minister told me that he will look into the matter and inform me accordingly,” Afridi said, adding that his government would follow all constitutional and legal means to secure the meeting.

“We have always followed halal procedures and will continue to do so.”

The chief minister dismissed allegations that the PTI was only engaged in protest politics, saying the party had always demonstrated peacefully.

“When justice is not served by the courts, peaceful protest becomes our constitutional right,” he asserted. “That option remains open to us.”

Afridi said that if there is a need to form an advisory council, he would do it himself as the chief minister. Asserting loyalty to Pakistan, he said: “Quaid Azam is the founder of the nation—Pakistan comes first, everything else comes after.”

He added that since assuming power, he had been taking steps for the release of the PTI founder and had planned to consult him on the formation of the provincial cabinet along with his recommendations.

Afridi – a young PTI leader – hails from Bara tehsil of Khyber district and held the provincial chief education minister’s portfolio before becoming CM.

He is considered one of the party’s most ideological and grassroots activists, having been associated with Imran Khan’s founding party since his student years.

In his maiden speech in the KP Assembly, CM Afridi called himself a “champion of the politics of conflict”, and signaled a continuation of his predecessor’s efforts to infuse PTI founder Khan with new energy.

The young politician further warned that if the PTI founder was transferred from Adiala Jail without consulting his family and the party, he would paralyze the entire country in protest.

He also highlighted the issue of terrorist pressure in KP, and urged the federal government to review its Afghan policy. His statement compared the issues of the Centre’s policy on Afghanistan.

His remarks drew a strong reaction from the adviser to the Prime Minister on political matters, calling it against the constitution and the law.

Speaking on Geo News program “Capital Talk”, Sanaullah said: “Sohail Afridi is saying that he will not work with the federal government.”

Although the provinces enjoy autonomy after the 18th constitutional amendment, they cannot deny the federal government.

He predicted: “If the Chief Minister-elect acts accordingly in his speech, I don’t think he can act as the head of the provincial government under the constitution and the law.”

Highlighting the former ruling party’s position on counter-terrorism operations, Sanaullah said PTI should behave like a political party if it is seeking democratic and political treatment from the state and institutions.