KARACHI – The Sindh government on Saturday officially allowed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to hold a public rally at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Karachi. The deputy commissioner East issued a written no-objection certificate (NOC) in response to PTI’s request, allowing the party to set up a pandal (large temporary structure) at the venue on Sunday. Senior Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said the NOC for the rally had been issued with specific conditions. He said that the organisers would be fully responsible for maintaining law and order during the event. He said that incitement, sectarian speeches, and anti-state rhetoric would not be allowed. He said that traffic management during the rally would also be the responsibility of the organisers, and the event must conclude within the scheduled time.
He said that the district administration reserves the right to cancel permission on security grounds. Earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi led a rally to Bagh-e-Jinnah, where he inspected arrangements for the PTI rally scheduled for Sunday. Along the route from the airport to Bagh-e-Jinnah and then to Karachi Press Club, Afridi was welcomed by PTI supporters who chanted slogans in support of the party founder.
At the Karachi Press Club, Afridi spoke to the media, saying he had no personal contact regarding negotiations. He stressed that peace in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could not be achieved solely through military operations. He said that if the prime minister called him for talks to eliminate terrorism in the province, he would attend. Earrler, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leadership, saying President Asif Ali Zardari had brought an end to the politics of former prime ministers Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto. “PPP used to portray itself as the custodian of the 18th amendment,” he said, while addressing a welcome event organised by the Sindh United Party (SUP) in Jamshoro. The KP chief minister accused the PPP of altering the Constitution’s basic structure through the 26th and 27th amendments, saying the people of Sindh now wanted change and no longer wished to see the same political faces in power. CM Afridi said that those “brought in” the Centre were occupying the seat with a “fake mandate”.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed chief minister added that he could not be moulded into anyone else’s way of thinking. “You may cut off my tongue, but you cannot change my tone.”
He said his struggle was aligned with the rights of Sindh’s people, true democracy and freedom, adding the movement aimed at the supremacy of the Constitution and law, restoration of an independent judiciary, free media and the rule of law. The KP chief minister also called for preparations for a street movement, urging supporters to respond whenever a call was given. He asserted that the PTI would organise a public gathering at Bagh-e-Jinnah near the Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum on Sunday (tomorrow), despite “it being locked” for entry. From Jamshoro, the KP chief minister travelled to Hyderabad, where he accused the federal government of discriminatory treatment, alleging it had denied his province its constitutional and financial rights.
Speaking to reporters, the KP chief minister said that the federation was not giving KP its due rights. CM Afridi claimed that PTI’s mandate had been undermined, saying the party had formed the government at the Centre. Afridi also raised concerns over the National Finance Commission award, stating that the NFC share was not being distributed fairly among the four provinces. He added that the tribal districts were included only in administrative matters, not given a financial share.
Referring to official protocol, Afridi said other provincial chief ministers were provided aircraft and praised regularly, claiming that the disagreement was “not with me personally, but with the province”. CM Afridi arrived in Karachi on Friday on a three-day visit to Sindh as part of PTI’s street mobilisation movement to mark first anniversary of “fraud” February 8 polls held in 2024.
