Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Khan Afridi has made it clear that talk of KP governor’s rule or an emergency will not change his stance. He said he will hold his ground and will not go against the mandate given to him by the people of the province.
Afridi Rejects Pressure at Law and Order Meeting
Speaking at a meeting on the province’s law and order situation, Afridi said he would never compromise on his ideology. He added that he would not accept any step that runs counter to the wishes and mandate of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“I curse any chair that diverts me from my ideology,” he said. He stressed that decisions at odds with the province’s public mandate could not be accepted.
Rs35 Billion Moved From Development Budget to Police
The chief minister said the provincial government had cut Rs35 billion from the development budget and handed it to the police. The money, he explained, is meant to strengthen security and help restore peace in the province.
Afridi also voiced frustration that some quarters were not willing to hear out stakeholders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, even though the province has been working to tackle its law-and-order problems.
Federal Law Minister on Governor’s Rule and Emergency
Earlier, Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar addressed the issue while speaking to journalists in Islamabad. He said the Constitution spells out the procedure for imposing governor’s rule and for declaring an emergency.
According to Tarar, either measure could be taken if the conditions set by the Constitution are met and the circumstances call for it. He stressed that any such move would have to stay strictly within the constitutional framework.