KOHAT: Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi on Sunday vowed to achieve what he termed “real freedom,” saying that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan had conveyed a clear message of “freedom or death”.
“We will return either after achieving real freedom or be killed if we go there this time,” he said while alluding to the next march on Islamabad.
The chief minister said this while addressing a public gathering of his party in Kohat as part of a plan he had announced earlier.
He expressed dissatisfaction with the state institutions, accusing them of giving PTI a raw deal. “Those who were supposed to dispense justice are not doing so, and those meant to protect us have become our killers and are robbing us of our mandate,” he complained.
Sohail Afridi alleged that concerted efforts were underway to eliminate the PTI and subdue Imran Khan. “The fake government and institutions are trying to eliminate Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and suppress Imran Khan,” he alleged.
The chief minister said that Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, had been implicated in fabricated cases. He condemned the use of water cannons against Imran Khan’s sisters in Rawalpindi to force them to end a protest sit-in.
Renewing his loyalty to the PTI founder, he announced that only Imran Khan’s policies would prevail in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as they reflected the will of the people.
He said that Imran Khan had assigned responsibilities for negotiations or protests to Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas, urging the public to remain prepared for the party’s call.
Criticising the federal and Punjab governments, the chief minister said those who came into power by “stealing the public mandate” were now offering advice.
He also challenged the development works being carried out by the Punjab government under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, claiming that Punjab ranked the lowest among all the provinces in terms of investment.
Referring to recent survey findings, he said the Punjab Police had become the most corrupt institution in the country, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was making the highest per capita investment in the health sector.
The chief minister further alleged that the federal government had committed corruption amounting to Rs5,300 billion. He made it clear that no one in the province would be given employment on political recommendations, adding that recruitment in all provincial departments, autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies would be conducted strictly on merit through the Educational Testing and Evaluation Agency.
The chief minister said that 16,000 recruitments in the Elementary and Secondary Education Department had been made 100 percent on merit.
Announcing development initiatives for Kohat, Sohail Afridi said the provincial government would provide full funding for the establishment of a Girls Cadet College, a girls’ campus at Kohat University, a 1,000-bed hospital, and the resolution of clean drinking water issues in the district. He added that deficiencies at the District Headquarters Hospital would be addressed, while work on blacktopping of roads and water supply schemes accelerated.
