Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi. SCREEN GRAB
PESHAWAR:
The federal government and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Friday blasted newly elected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi for refusing to attend a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accusing him of putting political loyalty above provincial responsibilities.
The session, which was attended by all chief ministers, including those from Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, was convened to discuss critical national challenges, including Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions, repatriation of Afghan refugees, wheat shortages, regulation of black markets, flood damage assessment and countrywide policy coordination.
However, despite being in Islamabad, Afridi declined to attend.
Ikhtiar Wali Khan, the prime minister’s coordinator for information and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa affairs, condemned the decision, saying the province’s representation was handed over to “a person so deeply lost in personality worship that he has made governance subservient to it”.
“Instead of protecting this country for which our forefathers sacrificed their lives, we now seem willing to let it crumble,” he said. “The Chief Minister’s tone makes it clear that his personal loyalty outweighs his duty to the country.”
Wali Khan said Afridi’s absence from such a crucial meeting was tantamount to betraying the 40 million citizens of KP, adding that the province’s loss in politics and coordination would be the responsibility of PTI and the new chief minister.
“The federal government is motivated by love for Pakistan, but the KP chief minister is consumed by love for Imran Khan,” he alleged.
“He must stop using the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as fuel for his politics. The CM’s office is a symbol of the state… it should display the national flag and [Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali] Jinnah’s portrait, not personal loyalties.”
Meanwhile, PML-N’s KP spokesperson Rahmat Salam Khattak also condemned Afridi’s decision, calling it “deeply regrettable and irresponsible”.
He said the meeting discussed the rehabilitation of flood victims, flour price inflation and the resurgence of terrorism, all issues that directly affect the province.
“This behavior shows the provincial government’s apathy towards public suffering,” Khattak said. “People in flood-affected areas are still waiting for relief, flour has become unaffordable and terrorism is rearing its head again, but the minister continues to prioritize political grudges over national interests.”
He said the PML-N believes that cooperation between the federation and the provinces is essential for national security, economic recovery and public relief, but “unfortunately, the PTI-led provincial government has repeatedly chosen confrontation, obstinacy and blame politics over cooperation”.
Khattak urged the KP chief minister to “act beyond partisanship, recognize his constitutional and moral responsibilities and work with the Center for the welfare of the people”.
