Workers clash with police; K-P CM accuses Sindh govt of creating hurdles; Tells supporters movement ‘unstoppable’
K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi addresses a rally at Karachi’s Numaish Chowrangi. Photo: Express
KARACHI:
Imran Khan’s PTI on Sunday finally managed to pull off a rally in Karachi — the first outside Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) since May 9, 2023 — amid high drama, with K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi telling a crowd of supporters that the party’s street movement is now “unstoppable”.
Afridi had arrived in Karachi a couple of days back to mobilize the PTI workers ahead of the opposition parties’ planned protest on February 8, the second anniversary of 2024 general elections.
Upon his arrival, CM Afridi was welcomed by a provincial minister and the PPP’s Sindh government a day earlier had also granted the PTI the permission to hold a rally in Karachi’s Bagh-e-Jinnah which is adjacent to the mausoleum of the Founder of the Nation.
However, this apparent bonhomie between the PTI and the PPP was short-lived.
According to the PTI Sindh spokesperson, when PTI workers started making preparations for the rally at the appointed venue on Saturday night, the Sindh Police conducted a crackdown, detained workers, and cleared the ground.
On Sunday morning, police erected barriers and blocked all routes leading to Bagh-e-Jinnah. When workers reached the area in the form of rallies, police began making arrests.
Clashes also erupted between party workers and the police in which two police personnel, including a woman, sustained minor injuries. Unknown individuals also damaged the DSNG vehicle.
During the clashes, workers pelted stones at the police, who responded with a baton charge to disperse them and detained several people. A PTI Sindh spokesperson claimed that more than 35 workers were taken into custody.
Later a large number of people entered the venue, after which police withdrew.
The rally was scheduled to begin at 4:00 pm on Sunday. However, the party’s central and provincial leadership went to Gadap Town to receive CM Sohail Afridi.
According to some reports, Afridi departed for the rally site at 3:00 pm with a convoy, but later changed his schedule. Instead of heading directly to the venue, he undertook a six-hour-long tour of various areas before eventually reaching the rally’s venue.
However, the PTI spokesperson claimed that when the CM’s convoy set out from Gadap Town for the rally’s venue, the police tried to stop it by placing containers and barriers in various parts of the city.
He said heavy obstructions were set up on routes leading to Mazar-e-Quaid and the convoy had to constantly change its route which resulted in the delay.
Meanwhile, due to the absence of lighting, washrooms, and other basic facilities at Bagh-e-Jinnah, workers vacated the venue after Maghrib prayers and moved to Numaish Chowrangi, where PTI ultimately held its public gathering.
Addressing a rally late on Sunday night, CM Sohail Afridi said the government had treated the PTI unfairly in Punjab, and that the Sindh government had also failed to show fair conduct.
He accused the Sindh government of creating obstacles, but said the public removed all barriers and made the gathering successful, adding that fascism witnessed in Sindh would always be remembered.
He, however, thanked the people of Sindh and expressed heartfelt gratitude to the people of Karachi, saying the public turnout proved that the nation stood firmly with Imran Khan.
“Those who believed Imran Khan’s politics was finished should come and see for themselves,” he said, adding that their movement could not be stopped
He said when Imran Khan gives the call, the public is ready to come out, and that the people of Karachi had proven that a rally could be held even without facilities.
Afridi claimed that a crowd of hundreds of thousands had proven the PTI to be Karachi’s representative party. He criticised those who claimed to be champions of democracy, saying they had failed to uphold democratic values.
He further alleged that the PPP had collectively altered the constitutional framework and claimed that a dictatorship of the PPP was in place in Sindh. He said the public was ready to march to D-Chowk and was only waiting for Imran Khan’s call.
“We must remain prepared and maintain this spirit of struggle,” he said. “We will not allow anyone to strip us of our rights, nor will we allow anyone to keep the nation’s leader imprisoned without justification. Whenever Imran Khan gives the order, we will act accordingly.”
Earlier, Senior Sindh Minister for Information Sharjeel Inam Memon said the Sindh government warmly welcomed the CM Afridi but despite assurances the PTI was not fulfilling its commitment.
He said that it was clearly stated on the very first day that permission had been granted to hold a public gathering, despite that, leveling allegations against the Government of Sindh is inappropriate.
“No one stopped the PTI from holding a rally at the designated ground. The manner in which rallies and processions are being taken out on roads is causing severe traffic disruption and creating difficulties for ordinary citizens.
“Karachi is a metropolitan city where even the gathering of a few hundred people can lead to traffic problems. We want the K-P CM to complete his visit smoothly and amicably,” he added.
