Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi reached Karachi on Friday, beginning his three-day visit to Sindh as part of mobilisation efforts for PTI’s street movement.
Sindh Labour Minister Saeed Ghani welcomed him at the airport. A video released from the minister’s office showed Ghani receiving Afridi and the two hugging at the airport. Ghani was also seen presenting Afridi a Sindhi cap and Ajrak.
The party’s secretary general Salman Akram Raja has also reached Karachi.
Videos shared by the PTI on X showed a large crowd gathered at the airport to welcome Afridi.
PTI alleges dismantling of tents
Earlier, PTI spokesperson Mohammed Ali Bozdar alleged while speaking to media that police had removed the tents put up outside the party‘s head office near the nursery area for the KP CM’s reception.
He, however, clarified that the office had not been sealed by police.
Previously, the PTI had alleged in a post on social media platform X that Sindh police had sealed the Insaf Secretariat in Karachi and dismantled a camp installed there for Afridi’s welcome.
Bozdar said CM Afridi was expected to address party workers and leaders at the head office, where he would be taken from the airport.
He also said he had spoken to police and Sindh government officials, who have assured that the tents would be returned. He added that the officials also assured that the party would be allowed to hold a gathering but was asked not to block roads.
media reached out to police for a comment but there was no immediate response from their side.
Afridi to hold gathering at Mazar-i-Quaid on Sunday
In a post on X, the KP chief minister, before departing for Karachi, said that he was bringing party founder Imran Khan’s “message” to the province.
“My visit is for three days and during this time we have planned various activities,” the chief minister said, urging people to support the street movement.
KP CM announced that he would be holding a gathering at Mazar-i-Quaid on Sunday at 4:30pm, calling on people to participate in the gathering.
“We will hold the biggest gathering in Karachi’s history,” CM Afridi said.
For its part, the authorities in Sindh initially said Afridi would not be allowed to hold a public gathering at Mazar-i-Quaid but later, a provincial minister announced a change in the decision.
A notification issued by the Korangi deputy commissioner’s office initially cited “great traffic congestion” and consequent “public inconvenience” as the reasons to deny permission to hold the gathering at Mazar-i-Quaid and asked the PTI to propose an alternative venue.
However, later Sindh Local Government Nasir Hussain Shah said in a statement issued by his office that the authorities had decided to allow the rally at Mazar-i-Quaid.
“We will fully welcome KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi in the province,” he said, adding that the peaceful struggle of any political party, including the PTI, could not be stopped.
However, he also warned that “difficulties could arise in the law is violated”.
“There is no restriction on the rally. They have sought permission for holding rallies in South and Korangi districts. They have sought permission for a rally at Jinnah Ground and they are being given permission for that,” he said. “We are in talks with the PTI leadership and they can definitely be given permission for holding the rally in accordance with the law.”
What‘s on CM’s agenda?
The chief minister, during his three-day visit, will meet with the party leadership, as well as lawyers and business leaders, and hold a meeting with Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
KP Minister for Local Government Meena Khan Afridi, who is accompanying the chief minister, said in a post on X that their flight had been delayed and the revised arrival time was now 12:35pm.
The visit is aimed at energising the party’s newly launched street movement in Karachi and other cities seeking the release of the incarcerated former prime minister.
On Monday, PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh, during a press conference at party headquarters, Insaf House, shared the CM Afridi’s schedule for the visit.
He detailed that CM Afridi will depart from Islamabad on January 9 and arrive in Karachi, where he will be received by party workers and supporters.
A rally will then accompany him to Insaf House, followed by a series of meetings with party leaders and delegations.
His Karachi engagements include interactions with traders at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, a meeting with the Press at the Karachi Press Club (KPC), and street movements across districts South, Korangi and Malir.
He is also expected to meet incarcerated PTI workers, which the party says underscores its campaign narrative of resistance and sacrifice.
The momentum will carry into Jan 10 as CM Afridi travels to Hyderabad.
On his route, he will be welcomed in Jamshoro by Sindh United Party President Syed Zain Shah.
The Hyderabad leg features street protests in Kotri, addresses to the High Court Bar Association and Press Club, meetings with journalists, intellectuals and farmers, and a gathering at Insaf House Hyderabad.
The PTI Sindh chapter president had also said that a meeting between the chief ministers of KP and Sindh is expected on January 12, pending official confirmation.
Last month, CM Afridi’s visit to Lahore — undertaken for the same purpose — was marked with difficulties. Subsequently, he had written a letter to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz complaining about the treatment meted out to him during his visit.
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