Aleema Khan presses Sohail Afridi on budget approval before founder meeting

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan interrupted Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, questioning why the provincial government was moving ahead with the budget before a meeting with the party founder.

The exchange took place during a sit-in staged by PTI leaders and the founder’s family members after they were denied a meeting with him.

As Afridi addressed reporters, Aleema Khan objected to the approval of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa budget and urged him first to secure a meeting with Imran Khan. She said the founder had previously directed that budget-related matters should be discussed with him before any final decision.

“Why are you passing the budget? First arrange my meeting with him,” she said, adding that the PTI founder had also raised the issue during last year’s budget process.

Aleema Khan further alleged that the PTI founder was being kept isolated, calling the situation unlawful and unconstitutional.

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Earlier, Afridi told reporters that he would remain chief minister until he received different instructions from Imran Khan. He rejected reports of divisions within the party and maintained that only the founder could decide the future of the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He also criticized the upcoming federal budget, claiming it would place a greater burden on the public, while stating that the KP cabinet had already approved a balanced provincial budget.