PROVINCE REPORT
PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Sohail Afridi during his visit to Lahore , met the family of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) veteran worker Ishtiaq Ahmad, who was martyred after being thrown into a cauldron of hot oil during an operation of Punjab Police.
He offered Fateha for the departed soul and expressed his heartfelt condolences and solidarity with the bereaved family.
He prayed for the departed soul and the bereaved family. The Chief Minister assured the family of all possible assistance and support, and strongly condemned the Punjab Police action, terming it deeply deplorable, condemnable and unacceptable to subject a devotee of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) to such treatment. Provincial Minister for Information Shafi Jan and other PTI leaders accompanied the Chief Minister.
Later, Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi led the Street Movement rally in Lahore as part of preparations for the September 27 Long March. PTI workers and supporters of Imran Khan gave him an enthusiastic reception at various points along the route, raising slogans and expressing strong solidarity with the movement.
Addressing workers at Do Moriya Bridge in Lahore, Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi said he had made it clear to the Punjab Police that he did not want security from those who had martyred PTI worker Ishtiaq Ahmad while he was preparing for Eid Milad-un-Nabi “I do not need security from those who martyred our worker,” he said, adding that the Punjab Police should return to their police stations because the people of Punjab had lost confidence in the police and their uniform.
The Chief Minister said that a devotee of the Holy Prophet (PBUH ) had been thrown into a cauldron of hot oil and that the Punjab Police should be ashamed of such an act. “You have martyred a devotee of the Holy Prophet (PBUH ) ” he said.
He said the Chief Minister of Punjab claimed that she faced threats not from India but from the other three provinces of Pakistan. “I announce today that I have no threat from my brothers and sisters in Punjab. The people of Punjab are my people, Punjab is mine, I am one of the people of Punjab, and I have no threat from anyone,” he said. “We are all Pakistanis and our identity is Pakistan.”
Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said the people of Punjab had rejected the “fake Chief Minister” and said that those currently in power had assumed office through rigging. He said a government that lacked a genuine public mandate could not claim to represent the people.
The Chief Minister also said that the Punjab Police had blocked routes at various locations during the Street Movement, intimidated people, harassed workers and created obstacles to prevent them from joining the rally. He said that despite these restrictions and attempts to discourage participation, the people of Lahore came out in large numbers and demonstrated their support for the movement.
Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi said the Punjab Police should not put up any routes or impose restrictions for his movement and should not harass or inconvenience his people. “I am a Chief Minister of the people and I am happy to remain among the people,” he said.
The Chief Minister said September 27 was not merely a political call but a decisive moment for the future of Pakistan. He called upon the people to come out on September 27 for their genuine democratic mandate, independence of the judiciary, freedom of the media, supremacy of the Constitution and law, and an end to a system of oppression and coercion. “This is not the time to remain silent; it is the time to stand up for our rights,” he said.
He said September 27 would demonstrate whether decisions in Pakistan would be made on the basis of the people’s vote and genuine mandate or through rigging and coercion. He added that the public struggle for Haqeeqi Azadi (True Freedom ) had entered a decisive phase.
