Pakistan’s KP chief minister to visit Karachi as Imran Khan’s party steps up street movement

The chief minister of Pakistan’s northwest province said on Thursday that he will visit Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Jan. 9 as jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan’s party seeks to expand its street movement beyond Punjab, days after his three-day tour of Lahore.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi — who is also a leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf — announced the plan in a post on social media platform X.

“Friday, January 9!” he wrote. “Karachi, Sindh, are you ready?”

Afridi said he would arrive in Karachi “bearing Imran Khan’s message” and would meet “all friends of the party,” referring to leaders and supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

PTI, founded by Imran Khan, has stepped up public outreach and street agitation amid continued political pressure on the party. Khan has been in prison since 2023, and PTI leaders say party activities have faced restrictions in several parts of the country.

Afridi had earlier said Karachi would be his next destination as part of efforts to galvanize supporters nationwide.

The announcement came shortly after his visit to Lahore, which was marked by heavy security measures and repeated confrontations with authorities.

During the tour, Afridi attempted to address supporters at Liberty Chowk, a central public square often used for political demonstrations. He was unable to deliver the speech after police blocked roads leading to the area by setting up pickets.

He also addressed PTI lawmakers at the Punjab Assembly. The visit was marred by altercations between members of his entourage and security officials, while heated exchanges between PTI leaders and journalists were also witnessed.

Authorities later barred the KP chief minister from visiting the cantonment area to meet party leaders. He was also prevented from visiting a nearby food street that had been shut down ahead of his planned stop.

Afridi did visit Zaman Park, the Lahore residence associated with Imran Khan, amid a heavy police deployment. PTI also reported the detention of party supporters during the tour.

On Monday, Afridi wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to complain about the treatment he said he received during the visit.

He said the Punjab government had adopted an “extraordinary and excessive security posture,” including sweeping detentions and visible enforcement actions, which he described as “a message of intimidation rather than cooperation.”

Afridi said such measures were neither proportionate nor warranted and went beyond legitimate security considerations.

“Taken together — protocol degradation, excessive policing optics, and synchronized digital vilification — the pattern is too consistent to be dismissed as coincidental,” he wrote.

He termed the conduct “beneath the status of a provincial government” and said it damaged the “collective credibility of federating units,” referring to Pakistan’s federal system.

Separately, Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Ahmad Khan said the KP chief minister’s visit to the provincial assembly would be investigated.

He said law enforcement agencies would review CCTV footage and an initial inquiry report related to the visit.