KARACHI, Sindh: The PTI Karachi rally at Mazar-e-Quaid was cancelled Monday after road closures delayed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s convoy, party officials said.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) sources also said that health issues were affecting Afridi, and that containers and blockades meant the convoy would not have reached the planned venue until around 6 a.m.
PTI Karachi President Faheem Khan said other party programmes scheduled for Monday would proceed as planned.
Karachi authorities offered a different explanation for the restrictions. Traffic police said roads around Mazar-e-Quaid were closed for security reasons, while a senior police officer told the media that intelligence agencies had warned of a security threat and that permission for the rally had not been granted.
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Afridi had earlier accused the Sindh authorities of obstructing his journey by placing containers, blocking roads and digging up routes as his convoy travelled from Hyderabad towards Karachi. He called on the Sindh government either to accept responsibility or identify who had imposed the obstacles.
The chief minister eventually reached the Karachi Toll Plaza early Monday after a journey of more than six hours, according to Dawn. His Sindh tour is part of PTI’s mobilisation for a planned September 27 protest seeking the release of party founder Imran Khan.
