KP CM announces province-wide pen-down strike over ‘discrimination’ claims

PESHAWAR: Sohail Afridi on Tuesday announced a province-wide pen-down strike for May 6, accusing the federal government of discriminatory treatment against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In a statement, the PTI-backed chief minister alleged that the province was being deprived of its due share under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, as well as in the electricity and gas sectors.

He said emergency services would remain operational during the strike.

Afridi also raised concerns over the treatment of incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi, alleging they were not being allowed medical care under the supervision of their personal physicians.

He termed the denial of access to family members and legal counsel “inhumane and illegal.”

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The chief minister has repeatedly accused the Centre of discriminatory policies. Earlier this year, he claimed that KP had not received its full NFC share, particularly funds allocated for the merged tribal districts.

He said commitments made for the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), including Rs100 billion annually for 10 years, were not fulfilled, adding that only Rs130 billion had been released over the past three years, resulting in significant financial losses for the province.

The announcement adds to ongoing tensions between the provincial and federal governments over fiscal allocations and political grievances.