KP CM Afridi thanks Bilawal for well wishes during Sindh tour

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi thanked PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday after the latter wished him the best for the rest of his visit to Sindh.

The KP CM reached Sindh on a five-day visit earlier this week and has been leading a public mobilisation campaign in the province for his party’s Sept 27 nationwide protest for the release of PTI founder Imran Khan and his immediate medical treatment at the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad.

After he visited Larkana, Bilawal welcomed him to the “city of martyrs” in an X post on Saturday night.

“Best wishes for the remainder of your tour across Sindh. We must ultimately return to a politics of tolerance, respect and coexistence, the foundation of any democracy,” he added.

In response, Afridi thanked him and noted that the “beauty of democracy is in freedom of politics and expression, independence of judiciary, acceptance of public mandate, an independent parliament and press being free”.

He also expressed hope that a large crowd would come out on the PTI’s call in Karachi and Hyderabad, where he is due today.

The exchange takes place amid signs of a thaw between the PPP and the PTI in the Centre.

Aggrieved by alleged irregularities and rigging in the recently held elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and with differences emerging over the creation of new provinces, Bilawal said last month that a genuine alliance with the PML-N was not possible until their grievances regarding the polls were addressed.

Meanwhile, the PPP also established formal contact with the PTI, offering to cooperate with the party in parliament.

Thus far, the PPP has been the ruling PML-N’s main ally in the Centre while the PTI is in the opposition.

Last time Afridi was in Sindh to mobilise people for a street movement, he had initially praised the PPP-led Sindh government’s reception, saying the democratic legacy of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto still thrived in the province. However, he had later accused the the Sindh government had not upholding the honour of the ajrak and topi and criticised its treatment of its “guests”.

Ahead of Afridi’s rally in Karachi on January 11, the party had alleged that Afridi had to face obstacles on his way to the metropolis. The party also accused the authorities of violence against its workers and supporters.