Pakistan: PTI will not hold talks without street protests, says KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi

Lahore [Pakistan], December 29 (ANI): Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Monday stated that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would not engage in talks with the government without first launching street protests to challenge the prevailing political situation, Dawn reported.
Afridi made the remarks after spending three days in Lahore mobilising party supporters, at a time when the PTI remains divided internally. While one group of senior leaders has been advocating dialogue, another faction continues to push for street agitation in line with the directions of the party's jailed founder, Imran Khan, according to Dawn.

A day earlier, Afridi had said the authority to initiate negotiations rested with the opposition alliance, while he had been assigned responsibility for leading the party's street movement. He had arrived in Lahore along with provincial ministers and assembly members to launch the protest campaign, following directives from Imran Khan, Dawn reported.
Speaking to journalists earlier in the day, Afridi said reconciliation was not possible without resistance. "We will be at a loss if we enter into dialogue without resistance. So, the protest movement will continue until the rulers come to the table after recognising the opposition as an equal partner," he said.
When asked whether the party had repeatedly protested without achieving results, Afridi said, "This time, we will not make tall claims but do practical work and come up with a positive output."
Addressing the government's offer of dialogue, Afridi said there must have been some "direction" from the powers that be for the prime minister to propose talks, adding that negotiations would only be meaningful if individuals with real authority and influence were included.
Responding to questions about his engagement with powerful quarters, Afridi said, "We could not develop a working relationship with the establishment because they did not accept my policy and I could not accept their policy."
He further said, "The establishment now knows that the incumbent rulers were unable to take Pakistan forward," while accusing the ruling parties of corruption and economic mismanagement, Dawn reported.
Outlining the party's protest strategy, Afridi said it was not necessary for PTI to select Islamabad's D-Chowk as a protest venue, as it did last November, and added that demonstrations did not need to be limited to a few days. In a post on X, he also announced plans to visit Karachi as part of the street movement.
Meanwhile, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said no political party could afford to move into a dead end. "We are seeing that the government wants the PTI to neither speak about its election fraud, the release of incarcerated party founder Imran Khan, nor question institutions' interference in politics and journalism. Then what should we do?" he said.
Raja added that reconciliation and dialogue could only begin once "basic principles" were agreed upon, warning that the party would otherwise continue with street protests to have those principles accepted.
Following the media interaction, Afridi was stopped from entering the Lahore cantonment area, where he had planned to meet the families of incarcerated former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema and advocate Hassaan Niazi, Dawn reported.
Afridi said he was informed that the cantonment had been declared a no-go area. "I have asked whether Pakistan's territory ended here and another country's land started," he said.
"The Punjab government should not have behaved in such a harsh manner with the chief minister of a province. This has all been happening with me for the past three consecutive days," he added.
Raja said the KP chief minister was willing to proceed without his security detail but was still not being allowed entry.
Reacting to the developments, Punjab Information Minister Azma Bokhari dismissed PTI's street movement, saying its reality was "exposed in daylight after social media hype overnight."
In a post on X, Bokhari said PTI supporters were sharing images from Bangladesh since the previous night, while claiming the party's protest failed to draw any public response during the day. She said protesters received no response to their slogans and accused PTI leaders of touring Lahore under heavy security.
"Please, let Lahore breathe in peace," she said, urging PTI leaders to return and address issues faced by people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa instead of staging protests elsewhere. (ANI)