PTI workers defy crackdown: Shafi

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information and Science and IT Minister Shafi Jan on Wednesday paid tribute to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) workers and the people of Punjab for participating in the party's street movement, saying their turnout despite alleged police action and arrests was a clear rejection of the provincial government. In a statement, Shafi Jan alleged that the Punjab government resorted to police high-handedness and other coercive measures to prevent people from participating in the movement. He said the strong public participation under the leadership of Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi demonstrated that the people had rejected what he called an incompetent government imposed on Punjab. The minister also alleged that an armed man was apprehended by the security staff near Chief Minister Sohail Afridi during the street movement and that a pistol was recovered from his possession. Shafi Jan claimed that the man's alleged target was the K-P chief minister. He further alleged that electricity supplies were disconnected in cities visited by Sohail Afridi. In Sialkot, where accommodation had reportedly been arranged for the chief minister, Shafi Jan claimed that electricity was cut and generators were also rendered non-functional.