RAWALPINDI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Tuesday said he would continue serving as chief minister until he received a new directive from jailed PTI founder Imran Khan, dismissing speculation about any change in the provincial setup.
Speaking to the media in Rawalpindi, Afridi said the PTI founder had previously stated that no one could remove him from the office as long as he remained the party’s choice.
Quoting Khan, the chief minister said the PTI founder had remarked that if Sohail Afridi remained chief minister, no power in the world could replace him. Afridi added that he would continue in the position until a fresh message was received from Khan.
His remarks come amid a deepening political crisis within PTI’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, where reports suggest growing divisions among party lawmakers and the provincial leadership.
According to reports, nearly 30 PTI members of the provincial assembly did not attend a parliamentary meeting convened by the chief minister on Sunday, a move widely seen as a sign of dissent within party ranks.
The political situation has further intensified due to reports of behind-the-scenes efforts by several senior PTI leaders who are said to be positioning themselves for the province’s top office and mobilising support among lawmakers.
Earlier in the day, Afridi rejected reports of a forward bloc within the party, describing them as propaganda. He maintained that only Imran Khan had the authority to remove him from the chief minister’s office.
The chief minister also called for Khan to be shifted to Shifa International Hospital for medical treatment.
“Our only demand is that he be transferred to Shifa International,” Afridi said, while also urging authorities to allow family members to meet the former prime minister if others were not being granted access.
Discussing budget matters, the chief minister said the provincial cabinet had approved budget documents and that the government would present a people-friendly budget.
He said the government’s priorities included health, education, agriculture, youth development and forestry, adding that no surplus budget had been prepared.
Afridi further claimed that reports regarding a forward bloc were being circulated to divert public attention ahead of the federal budget, which he said would affect all provinces, including Gilgit-Baltistan.
Meanwhile, PTI has constituted a six-member committee to address internal differences within its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter.
The committee will be headed by Asad Qaiser and has been tasked with bridging the widening gap between the party’s parliamentary members and the provincial government.
According to a notification issued by the PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Secretariat, the committee includes KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati and Provincial General Secretary Ali Asghar Khan among its members.
The committee has been directed to improve coordination between parliamentarians, the parliamentary party and the provincial government, three key pillars of the party structure that have been at the centre of the ongoing internal tensions.