CHARSADDA: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi vowed on Thursday that the accused involved in the murder of Maulana Muhammad Idrees would be arrested and brought to justice at all costs.
He expressed these views while addressing participants after offering fateha for the departed soul of Maulana Muhammad Idrees in the Tarangzai area of Charsadda.Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah was also present on the occasion.
Chief Minister Sohail Afridi paid rich tribute to the religious services of Maulana Idrees and described his martyrdom as a tragedy for the entire Muslim Ummah. He assured that all state resources would be utilised to arrest those responsible for the killing.He said that decisions made behind closed doors were unacceptable and warned that issues, including terrorism, cannot be resolved unless discussions are held openly.
He vowed to stand firmly with the people until his last breath and promised the people that the killers of Maulana Idrees would be arrested and brought to justice.He added that since 2002, the state had made the wrong decision of becoming involved in foreign wars, adding that the country had been facing terrorism continuously for the last 30 years.
The CM said that an All-Pashtun Peace Jirga had been convened in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and its recommendations were sent to the federal government, but unfortunately, neither the federal government nor institutions gave them due importance.
However, despite this clear political consensus, powerful quarters continue to impose such policies on the people at gunpoint. He said this is not the fight of any one individual, political party, or class, but a collective struggle of all people of the region.
The chief minister said the region has been paying the price of instability, terrorism, and continuous bloodshed ever since the state’s decision in 2002 to become part of a foreign-imposed proxy war. He said that for the past 23 years, the people of the region have continued to carry the burden of funerals and loss, adding that this tragic cycle must now come to an end.
The chief minister reiterated that strict directives have already been issued to the relevant authorities for the immediate arrest of those involved in the assassination of Maulana Muhammad Idrees Shaheed. The chief minister stated that he was personally reviewing progress on a daily basis and assured that all available resources would be utilized to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Meanwhile, Provincial Minister for Public Health Engineering Fazal Shakoor Khan, Member Provincial Assembly Iftikharullah Khan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Member National Assembly Shehryar Afridi, along with several prominent political, religious, and social figures, also visited Turangzai to offer fateha for the departed soul of Maulana Idrees and express sympathy with the bereaved family.
