Independent Senator Faisal Vawda has claimed that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Murad Saeed was directing Sohail Afridi from Afghanistan.
Speaking on ARY News programme “Aiteraz Hai”, Vawda cited information he had received about his former party colleague’s whereabouts.
He also predicted that Afridi could face disqualification and that PTI might be banned. Vawda maintained that he had forecast emergency measures and governor’s rule 10 months earlier.
Discussing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s political arrangements, he presented the changes as an effort to curb terrorism.
Vawda argued that Governor Faisal Karim Kundi had 180 days to demonstrate progress. He warned that the governor’s performance would face scrutiny and that failure was not an option.
If the advisory council succeeded within that period, he predicted, voters would turn away from the existing political leadership and support alternatives.
He contrasted the situation with Balochistan, whose provincial government he credited with cooperating in the fight against militancy despite its shortcomings.
Turning to his former party, Vawda accused PTI of retaining a political approach that he associated with abusive language and arson.
His criticism extended to the wider political system. He questioned whether democracy served a group of 500 elite members rather than opening politics to new entrants. Wawda called for fresh faces to have more opportunities to enter public life.
Read: FCC Disposes of Sohail Afridi Disqualification Petition
President Asif Ali Zardari declared an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 11 and suspended the provincial government. Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced a council of 11 advisers to administer provincial affairs under the governor.
PTI rejected that suspension. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s spokesperson Zulfiqar Bukhari described it as a “disguised coup”.
(With additional input from AP & ARY News)
