Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Afridi will not leave Sindh without a Karachi rally
Sohail Afridi, the chief minister of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said he would not leave Sindh until he holds the planned rally of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in Karachi. As Dawn reports, his convoy was heading toward the city, while the politician himself said there were obstacles along the route.
Afridi, together with PTI president Junaid Akbar, is conducting a five-day mobilisation campaign in Sindh ahead of a nationwide protest scheduled for September 27. The party plans to demand the release of its founder, Imran Khan, and his immediate medical treatment at Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad.
Speaking on the way to Karachi, Afridi said the rally would take place the following day or the day after if the convoy did not reach the city that evening. He addressed Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, saying that the Sindh authorities and police must explain the appearance of roadblocks.
Restrictions near Mazar-e-Quaid
Police in Karachi’s East district said they would not allow gatherings, rallies or processions near the Mazar-e-Quaid mausoleum on Shahrah-e-Quaideen Avenue, where PTI had planned its event. Law enforcement officials said security at the site had been reinforced due to the current security situation and warned of possible legal action if a gathering took place without permission.
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An unnamed senior police official told Dawn that the district administration had not approved the rally near the mausoleum because of a security threat. According to him, the party could hold the event on Super Highway near Toll Plaza or near Jail Chowrangi, where there were no such restrictions.
Reports of detentions
According to the police official, around 150–200 PTI supporters gathered near Mazar-e-Quaid in the evening. He claimed that after police tried to stop the people, some participants began throwing stones at law enforcement officers, injuring one police officer. He said security forces used crowd-control measures and detained several people.
For its part, PTI condemned the alleged blocking of its convoy on the route from Hyderabad to Karachi and reported the detention of party activists in several cities in Sindh. PTI’s Sindh president, Haleem Adil Sheikh, wrote on social media platform X that the convoy intended to reach Karachi despite all obstacles.
