ABBOTTABAD/SWABI: Warning against possible rigging in the Haripur by-election, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Khan Afridi on Wednesday said that the country was heading toward a major development.
“The state institutions have failed to perform their constitutional responsibilities and duties. When a democratically elected chief minister is prevented from meeting his leader, only one path remains and we will adopt it,” he warned.
He was addressing a gathering at Chamba near Havelian located on the boundary of Abbottabad and Haripur districts in support of NA-18 Haripur by-election candidate Shehrnaz Khan, wife of PTI leader Omar Ayub Khan. He had also spoken at a gathering at the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Technology in Swabi.
Afridi said the country’s “most popular leader and his wife were behind bars,” alleging that the PTI founding chairman’s sisters were “tortured outside Adiala Jail.”
The chief minister said that despite fulfilling all legal requirements, he was still not allowed to meet his leader. Afridi said that Imran Khan and his family had made significant sacrifices for Pakistan and that they lacked nothing in personal comfort. “Imran has rejected everything for the sake of the nation and its youth,” he added.
Issuing a strong message to what he called “powerful quarters,” Afridi said: “If we are pushed against the wall, remember that we are Imran Khan’s lions. We will strike and hunt if forced.”
The chief minister issued a stern warning to local political actors in Haripur, claiming that some individuals had “changed their votes” ahead of the November 23 by-election.
He said justice was being denied and democratic norms were being undermined. “The situation now leaves only one option - and we will definitely adopt it,” he cautioned, without specifying what that option might be.
Urging voters to support PTI in the upcoming by-election, he warned the local administration and law-enforcement agencies against any attempt to manipulate results. “If the people’s mandate is tampered with, the consequences will not be good. Any attempt at rigging will create a serious situation,” he said.
Afridi reiterated that “something big” was likely to unfold in national politics soon, a remark that further intensified speculation already circulating in political circles.
Sohail Afridi announced a series of development initiatives for Abbottabad and Mansehra districts.
The chief minister said he had already approved the demands outlined in the welcome address presented at the event. He added that “more good news” would soon be announced for the people of Abbottabad and Havelian.
Afridi also revealed plans for major health-sector upgrades in Mansehra, including the establishment of a trauma centre, a women and children’s centre, and the upgradation of King Abdullah Teaching Hospital.
Referring to PTI founder Imran Khan, the chief minister said that “the most popular and accepted leader of Pakistan was currently in jail.”
He stated that Imran Khan had sacrificed not only his life and property but also the wellbeing of his family for the country. Afridi alleged that Khan’s sisters- who, he said, have no involvement in politics - were subjected to violence.
“My leader could have signed papers and escaped to London like others, but he did not run away,” he told the crowd, adding that Imran Khan was making sacrifices for us, for our children, and for their future.
Afridi further claimed that authorities were not allowing him, as the chief minister, to meet Imran Khan. “If every legal avenue is exhausted and the meeting is still not allowed, then only one option remains,” he said, without elaborating.
Senior PTI leaders Omer Ayub Khan, Yousaf Ayub Khan, Ali Asghar Khan, Arshad Ayub, and MPAs Iftikhar Khan Jadoon and Rajab Abbasi were present on stage during the rally, which drew participants from both Abbottabad and Haripur districts.