KARACHI\/HYDERABAD(National Times)- After a journey of more than six hours, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi finally reached the Karachi Toll Plaza in the early hours of Monday, with his convoy negotiating blockades, dug-up roads, and other hurdles that the party alleged were placed by the government to stop or delay his arrival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The long-awaited arrival of the CM Afridi-led caravan from Hyderabad and Umerkot triggered scenes of celebration at the Toll Plaza where a crowd of PTI supporters, including women and children, had gathered to welcome them as fireworks lit up the night sky and jubilant workers raised slogans in their support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chief minister was accompanied by PTI Sindh president Haleem Adil Sheikh and other party leaders on the last leg of his five-day public mobilisation campaign in Sindh for the Sept 27 nationwide protest call to demand the hospitalisation and release of incarcerated ex-premier Imran Khan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before leaving Hyderabad for Karachi on Sunday evening, CM Afridi had accused the Sindh government of creating hurdles in his march and vowed that he would not leave the province without launching the \u2018free Imran Khan\u2019 movement with his rally in the port city. \u201cIf we cannot reach Karachi today, God willing, we will hold the rally tomorrow; if not tomorrow, then the day after. I will not take a single step out of Sindh without launching a street movement in Karachi. I will stay here until the objective is achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The PTI, however, had to change the venue of its planned rally from Mazar-i-Quaid to the Karachi Toll Plaza to ensure that the leadership and workers could reach the gathering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PTI\u2019s Sindh chapter spokesperson Muhammad Ali Baloch alleged that containers, vehicles and other barriers had been placed along the route leading to Mazar-i-Quaid, besides at several locations at the Kotri bridge. He said PTI workers from across Karachi had gathered at the Toll Plaza, where the party had prepared a stage and a truck for the gathering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Separately, Karachi\u2019s District East police, in a statement, said that \u201cno public gatherings, rallies or processions will be allowed around Mazar-i-Quaid\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018No dispute over gathering\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, who is also a spokesman for the Sindh government rejected the allegations that the arrangements were specifically aimed at PTI and said the party was free to come to the metropolitan city provided it followed the law. He told the media there was no disagreement with PTI members over the gathering, but warned that \u201cno one should take the law into their own hands\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the administration routinely makes security and traffic arrangements, including placing containers and imposing restrictions on roads, whenever a large political gathering takes place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mayor was responding to the allegations levelled by the PTI that the Sindh government had erected roadblocks to prevent the party\u2019s convoy from reaching Karachi for the rally. Speaking from the convoy\u2019s route, the party\u2019s Sindh chapter president Haleem Adil Sheikh said the CM and other leaders were travelling through \u201cremote and deserted\u201d rural roads after facing repeated obstructions and vowed that PTI workers would reach Karachi despite the restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are removing the barriers and moving forward. Karachi, wait for us, we are coming,\u201d he said. He claimed that the convoy had been held up for around four hours en route to Karachi from Hyderabad and alleged that officials had removed their vehicle\u2019s tyres while police took away its driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rally in Hyderabad<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, addressing a gathering in Hyderabad, the KP CM lashed out at the Punjab chief minister for making a controversial statement against smaller provinces, wherein she said Punjab faced internal threats instead of threats from across the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPunjab CM should tender an apology for her statement,\u201d he said, while also seeking a \u201cclarification\u201d from the Pakistan Army\u2019s media spokesperson. Addressing the ISPR director general, he said, \u201cYou tell us that India is our enemy but the one you got elected is saying India is not a threat to her. Please tell us who is right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also said only two families were ruling Pakistan \u2014 one from Sindh and the other from Punjab \u2014 but it was only the PTI whose leader Imran Khan picked an ordinary worker like him as the chief minister. He said the PTI\u2019s mandate was stolen in the Feb 2024 elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The KP CM also urged the youth to stand up for the country and for themselves because the future belonged to them. He also urged them to join the Sept 27 movement. \u201cWill you join us on Sept 27 because people say there will be bullets? I am ready for it and are you ready?\u201d he roared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, he addressed a rally at Allah Wala Chowk in Umerkot, where he arrived six hours behind schedule. He called upon his party supporters to come out on Sept 27 if the PTI faced repression, saying they had to stand firm for their future and that of their children.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KARACHI\/HYDERABAD(National Times)- After a journey of more than six hours, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi finally reached the Karachi Toll Plaza in the early hours of Monday, with his convoy negotiating blockades, dug-up roads, and other hurdles that the party alleged were placed by the government to stop or delay his arrival. The long-awaited […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":132635,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n