SUKKUR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has declared the era of dynastic politics in Sindh to be ending, as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)'s street mobilisation campaign entered its third day. He said September 27 would be a day of reckoning for Pakistan. Addressing participants at a street movement rally in Nawabshah on Saturday, the KP chief minister said the enthusiasm of people has proved that the political landscape of Sindh has changed.
He was joined in the caravan by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)'s central and provincial leadership, including party Secretary General Barrister Salman Akram Raja, Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh, KP President Junaid Akbar, Meena Khan Afridi, Shafi Jan, Amir Dogar, Adil Bazai, Sindh General Secretary Dr Masroor Siyal, Mushtaq Junejo and other party leaders. Afridi said the people of Nawabshah had rejected the narrative that Sindh was the political fiefdom of the Pakistan Peoples Party, claiming that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)'s decades-long political monopoly had been challenged.
He add that the large turnout despite the intense heat reflected massive support for Imran Khan in Sindh. Afridi said Imran Khan enjoyed support across all provinces and among minority communities and was fighting for the rights of ordinary Pakistanis rather than personal interests. He said the whole country, including Sindh, would stand up for its rights on September 27, adding that the day would determine whether Pakistan remained in the grip of dynastic politics or the people reclaimed their rights.
Afridi also condemned the denial of meetings with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder for his family members, lawyers and political leaders, calling it a violation of court orders. He claimed he too had been denied a meeting despite an order by three judges, and alleged that the Adiala jail superintendent had disregarded Supreme Court order. Speaking at the rally, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh said the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was panicking over Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)'s growing support in Sindh.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh president claimed that more than 150 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers had been picked up from their homes in Karachi without justification. Condemning the arrests, he said peaceful public gatherings were a constitutional right and demanded the immediate release of detained workers. Haleem Adil Sheikh alleged that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had compromised Sindh's water rights and was using the "Sindh card" to protect its political base.
He also criticised the provincial government's performance, alleging failures and corruption had left Sindh lagging behind other provinces in education, healthcare and road infrastructure. "Inflation, unemployment and corruption have devastated Sindh," he said, adding that if even half of the funds received by the Sindh government over the past 18 years had been spent on development, the plight of the province's cities would have been different.
Haleem Adil Sheikh said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had always opposed any division of Sindh and would continue to do so. "Karachi will see a major show on Sept 6 and its people will give their guests a historic welcome," he said. Earlier, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) caravan travelled through Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Qambar Shahdadkot, Garhi Yasin, Larkana, Naushehro Feroze, Nawabshah and Sanghar before proceeding to Mirpurkhas and Umerkot.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh spokesperson Muhammad Ali Baloch said the caravan would enter Karachi through the Toll Plaza on Sept 6, passing through Sohrab Goth, Liaquatabad and Guru Mandir before reaching Shahrah-i-Quaideen, where the KP chief minister would address a rally. The campaign would conclude in Karachi on Sept 7, when Sohail Afridi would address lawyers at the Sindh High Court Bar before leaving for Islamabad.