ISLAMABAD: The new chief minister of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, Sohail Afridi, on Monday vowed to end political arrests, blaming the federal government for its “wrong policies” that he said had led to the resurgence of “terrorism” in the area.
Afridi chaired his first formal meeting as the new chief executive of the province after getting elected to the post last week. A legislator from Bara district near the Afghan border, Afridi was elected to the chief minister’s post last Monday by KP lawmakers. His predecessor, Ali Amin Gandapur, stepped down as KP chief minister earlier this month after former prime minister Imran Khan, whose Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has its government in the province, ordered him to resign.
The new chief minister is expected to face significant challenges in governing the province, which include rebuilding provincial finances and curbing cross-border militancy. Afridi has vowed to reform the provincial police as KP, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed a resurgence of militant attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups in recent months.
“No one will be arrested in political FIRs [first information reports],” Afridi said during the meeting, according to a press release issued by the chief secretary’s office.
