Sindh extends cooperation as CM Afridi arrives in Karachi to hold ‘massive’ power show

The Sindh government on Friday announced to extend cooperation and facilitate Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi as the latter arrived in Karachi to hold a “massive public gathering”.

In a message prior to leaving for Karachi, CM Afridi said he was heading for Sindh with a message from his leader and PTI founding chairman Imran Khan.

He announced that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will hold a massive public rally at the Mazar-e-Quaid (Quaid’s Mausoleum) on Sunday at 4:30pm.

“My visit spans three days. We have planned various activities there. You all have to fully cooperate with us in this street movement.

“This will be, Insha Allah, one of the biggest rallies of Karachi’s history. You guys have to begin preparing for the rally from today,” he said, requesting his party workers to get ready for the power show.

Upon arrival at the Karachi airport, the KP CM was received by a large crowd who chanted slogans in PTI, Imran and the chief minister’s support. Sindh minister Saeed Ghani also welcomed him at the airport and presented Sindhi cap and Ajrak.

READ MORE: Afridi rejects proposals advocating need for military operation in KP

Afridi will visit Hyderabad on Saturday, where he will address the Hyderabad Bar members and journalists as well at the press club.

The Karachi-leg of Afridi’s street movement comes a week after his visit to Lahore, where he tried staging rally which was marred by heavy presence of law enforcers. In his message to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, he had complained that her government adopted an excessive security posture, which, he said, was a message of intimidation rather than cooperation.

His movement aims at pressurising the government to secure release of Imran and withdraw the 26th and 26th Constitutional Amendments among other things.

During his stay in Sindh, the chief minister will engage in various official and public activities.

On his Karachi trip, the KP chief minister is accompanied by members of the provincial cabinet as well as members of the national and provincial assemblies from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a statement on the Facebook page of KP chief minister read, along his video of arrival at the Islamabad airport.

Afridi will meet with his party leadership and “friends” during his visit to Sindh. He is also scheduled to hold meetings with senior lawyers, trade organisations, the chief minister of Sindh, and the media in Karachi. He is scheduled to address journalists at the Karachi Press Club on Friday evening as well.

Sindh govt extends cooperation

Meanwhile, the Sindh government has announced to extend cooperation to the visiting chief minister for carrying out political activities in the province, provided that they do not violate the law or cause inconvenience to the public.

Welcoming him, Sindh Senior Minister and Provincial Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit Sharjeel Inam Memon said that the Sindh government firmly believes in democratic values and is implementing a policy of free movement across the province. He stated that CM Afridi will have complete freedom to carry out political and official activities in Sindh, the Sindh Information Department said.

Sharjeel said that the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be provided full security and protocol. He clarified that the chief minister of KP should inform the Sindh government about his visit schedule. “If a venue is required for any meeting or event, the Sindh government will facilitate it,” he said.

The senior minister Shajreel Inam Memon said that the Sindh government is prepared to provide all possible facilities within the framework of the law. He added that ideological and political differences between the PTI and Pakistan Peoples Party exist, but differences of opinion and criticism are accepted in democratic societies.

“If PTI chooses to criticise it, it has the right, and the PPP also has the right to respond politically. The situation was different during the rule of Imran, when criticism on a talk show would often be followed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’s notices or arrests the next day,” he said, adding that such practices will not be adopted in Sindh and that criticism will be tolerated within the bounds of political ethics.

The senior minister also blasted Imran’s stance regarding the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and said that the former prime minister’s narrative in favour of the Taliban is well known. He said that Imran had spoken about opening Taliban offices, despite the fact that these are the same terrorist elements who have spared no one in Pakistan, targeted innocent schoolchildren, attacked mosques, assaulted people of different schools of thought and politicians, and carried out widespread terrorism across the country.

Who’s Sohail Afridi?

Afridi on October 13, 2025 took office of the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with declared assets of just Rs578,000, a remarkably modest sum in the country’s political landscape, where wealth and power often go hand in hand.

Afridi’s political rise has been swift. A graduate in Economics from the University of Peshawar, he entered politics through the Insaf Students Federation (ISF) and later the Insaf Youth Wing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

READ MORE: NCCIA case: Non-bailable arrest warrants issued for KP CM

Running as an independent in the 2024 general elections, with backing from PTI, he defeated Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s Bilawal Afridi to win a provincial assembly seat from PK-70 (Khyber-II).

He served as special assistant for communication and works before being appointed provincial minister for higher education.