Afridi hits back at Center for corruption

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, responding to federal criticism over the disbursement of Rs 4 billion to displaced families in the Tirah Valley, on Tuesday turned the spotlight on the Centre. He cited an International Monetary Fund (IMF) “indictment” that allegedly identified 5.3 trillion rupees of corruption at the federal level.

“Why is no one talking about this massive figure mentioned in the IMF documents?” ” questioned the chief minister while addressing a convocation of the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) in Peshawar.

“It seems like a double standard,” he added, calling the federal allegations a “political gimmick” intended to distract from their own financial mismanagement and governance failures.

Referring to the province’s unpaid dues, the chief minister said the federal government owed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa billions of rupees in hydel net profit, which he said was the constitutional right of the province.

Positioning himself as a defender of KP’s constitutional rights, the chief minister said that if he had been personal, he would not have met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the first place. “My personal likes or dislikes will not stand in the way of public rights.”

The chief minister made it clear that while he was ready to negotiate the financial rights of KP, his political loyalty to Imran Khan remained non-negotiable and termed any federal strategy to subjugate the province as “wishful thinking”.

Noting that prolonged insecurity had deprived the youth of educational and professional opportunities, he assured students of his government’s efforts to bridge the gap.

Linking development and prosperity to lasting peace, he said lasting peace was essential for progress and sincere efforts were underway to restore law and order.

He said that without peace, development was impossible and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa could no longer become a testing ground.