PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Muhammad Sohail Afridi on Friday launched a nationwide membership drive for the “Imran Khan Release Peace Movement,” announcing the establishment of hundreds of camps across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, outreach to multiple segments of society and a series of representative gatherings to mobilise support.
Speaking at the membership launching ceremony, he said 172 membership camps would be set up across the province, each staffed by designated teams of party workers to ensure a structured and organised campaign. He added that the drive would be expanded nationwide in phases.
Welcoming delegations from other parts of the country, including Balochistan, Sindh, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, the chief minister thanked the visiting leadership for their participation, describing it as a reflection of broad-based national support for the movement. He announced that a national lawyers’ jirga would be convened on April 10 at Nishtar Hall, Peshawar, followed by similar representative gatherings of farmers, labour groups and other segments of society to broaden outreach and consolidate public engagement.
The chief minister stated that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his spouse were being unlawfully detained, with their cases not taken up for hearing for over a year, raising concerns about the rule of law and the justice system. He added that despite receiving a massive mandate, Imran Khan was removed through manipulation of the public mandate and subsequently incarcerated in what he termed politically motivated cases.
Shail Afridi said all constitutional, legal and democratic avenues had been exhausted to secure a meeting with Imran Khan. “Letters were formally addressed to the federal government, the speaker of the National Assembly and the superior judiciary, including the Supreme Court of Pakistan and Islamabad High Court but no facilitation was provided,” he said.
He maintained that he approached Adiala Jail not as an individual but as the elected representative of over 45 million citizens of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stating that denial of access amounted to disregarding the mandate of the province’s electorate.
The chief minister said restrictions on political activity, including curbs on movement, arrests of political workers and barriers imposed on elected representatives, had curtailed democratic space.
He reiterated that the Constitution guarantees the right to peaceful protest and affirmed that the movement would remain within constitutional and non-violent parameters.
Highlighting what he termed systemic inequities, Sohail Afridi alleged a clear double standard, stating that while restrictions were imposed on his movement, resources elsewhere were utilised without restraint.
He referred to incidents in Punjab where, he claimed, roads were blocked and party workers detained, questioning what lawful avenues remained under such circumstances.
The chief minister alleged a discriminatory treatment, stating that while certain individuals were granted protocol and facilitated travel abroad, an elected chief minister was denied access to meet his party leader in jail.
He announced that the PTI leadership would formally take an oath to remain steadfast in their commitment, pledging neither to retreat nor to deviate from their position. He urged the party workers and supporters to prepare for a sustained, disciplined and peaceful campaign, stating that the movement transcended electoral politics and concerned the country’s future, adding that the membership drive had formally commenced and would be carried forward.
