PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi on Tuesday announced a province-wide pen-down strike for May 6 (tomorrow), protesting what he described as the federal government’s “discrimination” against the province.
In a statement, the PTI-backed chief minister said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was facing deliberate discrimination in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, as well as in the electricity and gas sectors.
He clarified that emergency services would remain exempt from the strike. Afridi also reiterated concerns regarding the treatment of Imran Khan, stating that the incarcerated PTI founder and his wife were not being allowed medical care under the supervision of their personal physicians.
The chief minister further said that denying the PTI founder—who has been in custody since August 2023 in multiple cases ranging from corruption to terrorism following his removal through an opposition no-confidence vote in April 2022—access to family members and legal counsel was “inhumane and illegal.”
It is pertinent to note that the KP chief minister has repeatedly accused the Centre of discriminatory treatment towards the province.
On January 10, Afridi had strongly criticised federal policies, alleging discrimination against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, theft of public mandate, and political victimisation of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Speaking at a press conference in Hyderabad, he had said that the province had not received its full share under the NFC Award, including allocations meant for the merged tribal districts, resulting in an estimated loss of nearly Rs300 billion.
Referring to the tribal districts, he added that commitments made to the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata)—including the pledge of Rs100 billion annually for 10 years—had not been fulfilled, as only Rs130 billion had been released over the past three years.