Aleema Khan, the sister of the Imran Khan, questioned the approval of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa budget and urged party leaders to secure a meeting with the PTI founder before any budget-related decisions are made.
Speaking during a sit-in staged after family members were not allowed to meet the Imran Khan at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, Aleema Khan cautioned Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi over the issue of passing the provincial budget.
She said, “Why are you passing the budget? Tell them to arrange my meeting first.” She added that the Imran Khan had also said last year that discussions regarding the budget should be held with him. “Even today, tell them to arrange a meeting with the PTI founder before the budget is presented,” she said.
Aleema Khan further stated that the Imran Khan had been isolated, describing the situation as illegal and unconstitutional.
According to sources, Bushra Bibi was allowed to meet the Imran Khan at Adiala Jail. The meeting took place in the conference room and lasted between 25 and 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, speaking to the media, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said that the Imran Khan had decided from jail to change the chief minister and had nominated him for the position.
“The Imran Khan nominated me as chief minister, and now no power can remove me. I will remain chief minister until a message comes from Adiala Jail,” he said.
Talking to reporters at Main Factory Naka in Rawalpindi, Afridi said that no one other than the PTI founder could bring down the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government. He added that all MPAs were united under the banner of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Commenting on the upcoming federal budget, Afridi said that the public would once again bear the burden of the budget. He claimed that Pakistan’s domestic and external debt had reached Rs97 trillion and that tax collection had fallen short of the target.
He also said that the budget was initially scheduled to be presented on June 5 but would now be presented on June 10.
The chief minister further stated that the budget would eventually be passed through political adjustments, while the country’s trade deficit continued to increase. He said the entire burden of the budget would fall on the public and added that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had already secured cabinet approval for a balanced budget.
