Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi Begins Long March from Lakki Marwat

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has launched its long march from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi and other party leaders are traveling on a special container, accompanied by a very large number of people participating in the march. Addressing participants at Gandi Chowk in Lakki Marwat at the start of the long march, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi strongly criticized the federal government’s policies regarding security and terrorism. He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa openly challenges the federal government, arguing that the policies it has imposed on the province for the past five years have failed to eliminate terrorism and have instead led to an increase in violence.

He recalled that during the three years of PTI founder Imran Khan’s government, the province remained completely peaceful because, he claimed, the policies were correct. However, he said terrorism was once again encouraged after the regime change, and that the current unrest in the province was the result of the federal government’s own misguided policies. “The fire that they themselves have started can never be put out by them, but now we will put out this fire ourselves,” he said.

Sohail Afridi further said, “I challenge them that peace can be restored in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa within 100 days.” However, he alleged that the federal government had no intention of bringing peace to the province and had always been hostile toward the Pashtun people. He claimed that the government’s objective was to eliminate PTI, but added, “No one can eliminate PTI.”  Sohail Afridi said PTI founder Imran Khan often reminds people that a person can control only their intentions and efforts, while success lies in the hands of Allah. “Our intentions are sincere, and we will give it 100 percent,” he said.

He added that if he was standing firmly before the people that day, he had neither tanks, guns nor ammunition. “I am standing here only because of the strength of you, the people,” he said. He further said that if Imran Khan was refusing to bow down or break under pressure from what he described as “oppressors,” the real source of his strength was the people. He urged supporters to come out of their homes, change the destiny of Pakistan, and show the world that the true owners of the country are its people, not those who make decisions behind closed doors.