PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi has said he would rather leave the Chief Minister’s House than compromise on his ideology, while rejecting talk of imposing governor’s rule or an emergency in the province.
Afridi’s remarks come as PTI has postponed its planned September 27 long march to Islamabad until October 4. PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat has also claimed that Afridi is facing a possible no-confidence motion.
Marwat said PTI founder Imran Khan had conveyed that the Islamabad march might be beyond Afridi’s capabilities and that he should step down. Meanwhile, KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has raised the possibility of governor’s rule or emergency in the province.
Speaking at a meeting on law and order, Afridi said the people of KP, police and security forces had made significant sacrifices for peace.
He alleged that the security situation had deteriorated following what he described as a “regime change” and claimed his government had repeatedly warned the federal government about the movement and resettlement of militants in the province.
“The state’s current policy is wrong and will lead to more bloodshed,” Afridi said, calling for a new security policy to be formulated in consultation with the provincial government, police and other stakeholders.
The developments have intensified political and security tensions between the KP government and the federal authorities.