KP CM Afridi gives challange to Punjab CM Maryam for holding power show in KP

Lahore: Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sohail Afridi, has challenged Maryam Nawaz to hold a public rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stating that Maryam Nawaz should organize a rally in KP while he himself will hold one in Punjab, after which it will be seen whose call draws a larger public response.

While speaking during a meeting with senior journalists, anchorpersons, digital media representatives, bureau chiefs of various TV channels, and Noreen Niazi on the third day of his visit to Lahore, he formally invited Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to visit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Chief Minister said that Maryam Nawaz should come to KP, where she would be shown how the office of Chief Minister is received and respected in a democratic and civilized manner.

He also issued an open challenge to Maryam Nawaz to hold a rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stating that if the Punjab government claims that people do not come out on Imran Khan’s call, then he is giving Maryam Nawaz one week to prepare. After a week of preparation, Maryam Nawaz should come to KP and demonstrate her public strength by holding a rally there, while he will organize a rally in Punjab. It will then become clear whose call brings more people onto the streets.

He said that in the last general elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf won 180 seats from Punjab, which is clear evidence that the people of Punjab placed their trust in PTI and responded to Imran Khan’s call—and that they are still ready to do so today.

The Chief Minister further stated that those who have come into power through illegal means—referring to what he termed a “Form 47–engineered government”—have completely lost their connection with the public and are entirely disconnected from the people.

He said that after visiting Punjab and witnessing the ground realities firsthand, he was deeply shocked. The level of force, repression, and excesses being carried out by the Punjab government, he said, has no precedent in Pakistan’s history. It appears as though the system of draconian laws from the past has now been reimposed in Punjab by the current government, under which collective accountability is being enforced, homes are being raided, windows are being smashed, people are being harassed, and an atmosphere of fear and intimidation is being deliberately created.