Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday congratulated Sohail Afridi for being elected as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister and emphasised the centre-province coordination to achieve the national goals.
This was the first telephonic conversation between PM Shehbaz and CM Afridi following the latter’s election to the top post amid political friction between the federation and the province led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), respectively.
“Centre is ready to work with you [KP government] for Pakistan’s interests,” the premier told the newly-elected chief minister, who took oath a day ago and succeeded Ali Amin Gandapur.
Afridi — a young PTI leader — hails from Bara tehsil of Khyber district and held the portfolio of provincial minister for higher education before becoming the CM.
He is regarded among the party’s most ideological and grassroots-based workers, having been associated with the Imran Khan-founded party since his student years.
In his maiden speech in the KP Assembly, CM Afridi called himself “a champion of confrontational politics”, hinting at the continuation of his predecessor’s efforts to release the PTI founder Khan with new energy.
The young politician further warned that if the PTI founder was moved from Adiala jail without consulting his family and the party, they would paralyse the whole country in protest.
He also touched upon the pressing issue of terrorism in KP, urging the federal government to review its Afghan policy. His statement contrasted the Centre’s policy matters concerning Afghanistan.
His remarks prompted a strong reaction from Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, terming it against the Constitution and the law.
Speaking on Geo News programme “Capital Talk”, Sanaullah said: “Sohail Afridi is saying that he will not work with the federal government.”
Although provinces enjoy autonomy after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, they cannot defy the federal government, said the PM’s aide.
He predicted: “If the chief minister-elect acts in line with what he said in his speech, I don’t think he can function under the Constitution and the law as head of a provincial government.”
Highlighting the former ruling party’s position on operations against terrorism, Sanaullah said that the PTI should behave like a political party if it seeks a democratic and political treatment from the state and the institutions.
