MANSEHRA: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi on Wednesday said that he was in consultation with the political leaders, including the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, to devise a joint strategy for holding a protest in Islamabad to push for the release of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf founding chairman Imran Khan.

He made the remarks while addressing a public gathering here.

KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar Khan, deputy president Kamal Saleem Swati, and MPAs Munir Hussain Lughmani and Akramullah Ghazi were also present.

“I belong to the middle class, [but] the establishment does not want me to [be at the helm in the province]. However, I want to make it clear that I have spent 20 years promoting Imran’s philosophy and will not hesitate to sacrifice even my life for his dignity and honour,” he said.

Announces Rs25bn uplift projects for Mansehra

The chief minister said he was neither a terrorist nor a smuggler, claiming that a conspiracy was being hatched to remove him from the slot of chief minister.

“I am proud to be a loyal soldier of Imran Khan and will leave no stone unturned in securing his release,” Mr Afridi said.

He said the party had already approached the high courts, the Supreme Court, as well as the provincial legislatures in an effort to get Imran released from jail.

“Now, we will move towards the federal capital after evolving a joint strategy to secure his release,” he added.

Mr Afridi said the province had been turned into a “testing ground,” resulting in heavy loss of lives, including civilians and law enforcement personnel.

“We [duly] informed the authorities [when] terrorists [started] descending from the mountains and later reaching cities, but the federal government did pay any heed to our concerns. Now innocent people and security personnel are being martyred [in terrorist attacks],” he said.

The CM warned that they would not support military operations to combat terrorism if decisions continued to be made without consulting the KP government and its people.

PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar and deputy president Kamal Saleem also addressed the gathering, insisting that they had never worked for positions or money but for the cause of Imran Khan, and that they would continue their struggle for his release.

The participants at the rally chanted slogans demanding the release of PTI’s founding chairman.

Earlier, the chief minister announced development projects worth Rs25 billion for Mansehra, including a Rs18 billion gravity water supply scheme and Rs180 million for the acquisition of land for graveyards.

He also announced Rs1.8 billion for the development of recreational facilities at the Kotkay Dam.

Besides, he announced the establishment of a medical college, the creation of Tanawal tehsil, and projects in the health and education sectors.

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2026