Defiant KP CM reaches Karachi on last leg of Sindh drive

• Afridi asks Punjab CM to ‘apologise’ over controversial remarks against other provinces asserted

• PTI shifts rally venue from Mazar-i-Quaid to Toll Plaza amid restrictions; youth asked to join Sept 27 campaign • asserted

Karachi mayor says PTI free to come to city if it follows the law KARACHI/HYDERABAD: asserted

After a journey of more than six hours, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi finally reached the Karachi Toll Plaza in the early hours of Monday, with his convoy negotiating blockades, dug-up roads, and other hurdles that the party alleged were placed by the government to stop or delay his arrival. asserted

The long-awaited arrival of the CM Afridi-led caravan from Hyderabad and Umerkot triggered scenes of celebration at the Toll Plaza where a crowd of PTI supporters, including women and children, had gathered to welcome them as fireworks lit up the night sky and jubilant workers raised slogans in their support. The chief minister was accompanied by PTI Sindh president Haleem Adil Sheikh and other party leaders on the last leg of his five-day public mobilisation campaign in Sindh for the Sept 27 nationwide protest call to demand the hospitalisation and release of incarcerated ex-premier Imran Khan. Before leaving Hyderabad for Karachi on Sunday evening, CM Afridi had accused the Sindh government of creating hurdles in his march and vowed that he would not leave the province without launching the ‘free Imran Khan’ movement with his rally in the port city. asserted

cannot reach Karachi today, God willing, we will hold the rally tomorrow; if not tomorrow, then the day after. asserted

I will not take a single step out of Sindh without launching a street movement in Karachi. asserted

I will stay here until the objective is achieved.” asserted

The PTI, however, had to change the venue of its planned rally from Mazar-i-Quaid to the Karachi Toll Plaza to ensure that the leadership and workers could reach the gathering. uncertain

PTI’s Sindh chapter spokesperson Muhammad Ali Baloch alleged that containers, vehicles and other barriers had been placed along the route leading to Mazar-i-Quaid, besides at several locations at the Kotri bridge. asserted

He said PTI workers from across Karachi had gathered at the Toll Plaza, where the party had prepared a stage and a truck for the gathering. asserted

Separately, Karachi’s District East police, in a statement, said that “no public gatherings, rallies or processions will be allowed around Mazar-i-Quaid”. asserted

‘No dispute over gathering’ Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, who is also a spokesman for the Sindh government rejected the allegations that the arrangements were specifically aimed at PTI and said the party was free to come to the metropolitan city provided it followed the law. asserted

He told the media there was no disagreement with PTI members over the gathering, but warned that “no one should take the law into their own hands”. asserted

He said the administration routinely makes security and traffic arrangements, including placing containers and imposing restrictions on roads, whenever a large political gathering takes place. asserted

The mayor was responding to the allegations levelled by the PTI that the Sindh government had erected roadblocks to prevent the party’s convoy from reaching Karachi for the rally. asserted

Speaking from the convoy’s route, the party’s Sindh chapter president Haleem Adil Sheikh said the CM and other leaders were travelling through “remote and deserted” rural roads after facing repeated obstructions and vowed that PTI workers would reach Karachi despite the restrictions. asserted

“We are removing the barriers and moving forward. asserted

Karachi, wait for us, we are coming,” he said. asserted

He claimed that the convoy had been held up for around four hours en route to Karachi from Hyderabad and alleged that officials had removed their vehicle’s tyres while police took away its driver. asserted

Earlier, addressing a gathering in Hyderabad, the KP CM lashed out at the Punjab chief minister for making a controversial statement against smaller provinces, wherein she said Punjab faced internal threats instead of threats from across the border. asserted

“Punjab CM should tender an apology for her statement,” he said, while also seeking a “clarification” from the Pakistan Army’s media spokesperson. asserted

Addressing the ISPR director general, he said, “You tell us that India is our enemy but the one you got elected is saying India is not a threat to her. asserted

Please tell us who is right?” asserted

He also said only two families were ruling Pakistan — one from Sindh and the other from Punjab — but it was only the PTI whose leader Imran Khan picked an ordinary worker like him as the chief minister. asserted

He said the PTI’s mandate was stolen in the Feb 2024 elections. asserted

The KP CM also urged the youth to stand up for the country and for themselves because the future belonged to them. asserted

He also urged them to join the Sept 27 movement. asserted

“Will you join us on Sept 27 because people say there will be bullets? asserted

I am ready for it and are you ready?” he roared. asserted

Earlier, he addressed a rally at Allah Wala Chowk in Umerkot, where he arrived six hours behind schedule. asserted

He called upon his party supporters to come out on Sept 27 if the PTI faced repression, saying they had to stand firm for their future and that of their children. asserted

A.B. Arisar in Umerkot also contributed to this report Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2026 asserted